GIFT   OF 
Dr.    C.H.    Leninan 


.      A    TREATISE 

OF 

PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTIONS 

IN  THE 

'  MEDICAL  AND  SURGICAL  USES 

OF 

ELECTRICITY 

INCLUDING 

IJ^STEUGTIONS  IN  ELECTEICAL  DIAGNOSING 

AND  A  NEW  METHOD  OF 

GENERAL  AND  LOCAL  ELECTRIZATION. 

ALSO    CLINICAL    EXPERIENCES    OP    FIFTEEN    YEARS. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


S.  E.  MORRILL,  M.  D, 

Kalamazoo,  Michigan. 


KALAMAZOO.  MICH.: 

KALAMAZOO  PUBLISHINQ  CO.,  PBINTEB8  AND  BINDEBS, 


^\\ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

S.  E.  MORRILL,  M.  D., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress 


■\p4i      ^^■ 


c.  H.  k^. 


-^^Ua^''  'JUyi  .        >-•!>!•      '^L-^-'^-VUVVuA^*'*-^, 


To    My    Son, 

J,  F.  MORRILL,  M.  D., 

ELECTRICIAN, 

of  eureka,  california, 
This   Treatise   Is   Dedicated. 


Confident  that  he  will  continue  the  investigation  of  the  wonderful 
power  of  electricity,  as  it  relates  to  health  and  disease. 


S.  E.  MORBILL,  M.  D. 


PREFACE. 


This  book  is  published  for  the  purpose  of  diffusing,  in  a 
more  extended  form  than  can  be  obtained  by  any  other 
means,  the  therapeutic  value  of  electricity,  when  the  applica- 
tion is  scientifically  and  practically  employed.  We  present 
a  new  and  complete  system  of  Tuedical  electricity.  This 
system  of  practice  involves  new  principles  in  physiology  and 
diagnosing  diseases,  and  a  new  method  of  curing  the 
same.  Acute  or  inflammatory  diseases  are  cured  in  from 
three  to  five  treatments,  of  an  hour  each ;  chronic  diseases 
yield  with  from  ten  to  fifty,  according  to  the  length  of  time 
the  disease  has  been  standing.  The  cure  is  permanent,  be- 
cause the  circulation  is  equalized,  the  blood  purified,  the 
vital  or  nervous  forces  restored,  muscles  toned,  liver  and  all 
the  excretory  organs  aroused  and  stimulated  to  a  healthy 
action.  These  assertions  we  will  prove  to  any  who  will  in- 
vestigate. We  challenge  the  whole  medical  faculty  to  test 
this  new  method  of  curing  diseases  with  electricity,  and 
if  the  directions  are  followed  as  laid  down  in  this 
treatise,  they  can  then  prove  whether  it  be  true  or  false. 
We  have  read  many  works  on  this  subject,  and  some  truths 
have  been  written,  but  the  most  of  these  are  incomprehensible 
to  the  medical  reader,  and  how  much  more  so  to  the  masses  ? 
The  author  designs  to  present  a  treatise  as  void  of  technic- 
alities as  possible,  so  concise  and  simple  that  both  the 
physician  and  invalid  can  practically  demonstrate  its  truths, 
or  prove  its  defects. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  L 

Questions  and  Answers,  on  the  different  subjects  treated 
upon  in  this  volume. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Electro-Therapeutics. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Magnetism  and  Electricity. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Is  Electricity  Life  ? 

CHAPTER  V. 

Do  Medicine  and  Electric  Treatment  Harmonize? 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Salt— Its  Benefits  in  Electrical  Treatment. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Physical  Diagnosing. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Electrical  Diagnosing.    Instructions. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Kemarks  on  General  Treatment. 


Viii  CONTEITTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

General  Faradization.    Instructions. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Batteries  and  Instructions— How  to  keep  them  in  order. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Blood  Currents,  and  the  Source  of  their  Circulation. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DISEASES  OF  CHILDREN. 

Instructions  for  Treating  Croup,  Thrush,  Constipation, 
Diarrhoea,  Dysentery,  Atrophy  of  Infants,  Cholera 
Infantum,  Bronchitis,  Pneumonia,  False  Croup  or 
Asthma,  Indigestion,  Diphtheria. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SEXUAL  DISEASES  OF  WOMEN. 

Causes  of  Poor  Health  of  Girls,  Metritis,  Hysteria,  Ab- 
scesses of  the  Labia,  Menorrhagia,  Leucorrhcea,  Morbid 
Growths,  Ascarides,  Strictures,  Ovarian  Tumors,  Fibrous 
Tumors,  Dysmenorrhoea,  Malignant  Ulcers,  Vaginal 
Fistula,  Nymphomania,  Uterus,  Dropsy  of  the  Uterus, 
Vulvitis,  Ulceration  of  the  Uterus,  Moles,  Hydatids, 
Procidentia,  Prolapsus,  Retroversion,  Anteversion, 
Polypus,  Amputation  of  the  Cervix,  Erectile  Tumors, 
Prolapsus  of  the  Vagina,  Case  of  Adhesion  of  the 
Vagina  cured. 

CHAPTER   XV. 

SEXUAL  DISEASES  OF  MEN. 

Spermatorrhoea,  Spermatocele,  Prostatitis,  Hydrocele,  Im- 
potency,  Satyrasis,  Bubos,  Gonorrhoea. 


COKTEN'TS.  ix 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

BLOOD  POISOK 
Spider  and  Snake  Bites,  Scrofula,  Cancer,  Small  Pox,  Skin 
Diseases,   Salt  Kheum,    Erysipelas,   Poison   irom    Ivy, 
Khus,  Arsenic,  Strychnine,  Opium,  Oantharides,  Tobacco, 
Hydrophobia,  Asphyxia. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Pyaemia  and   remarks    on   President    Garfield's    sickness. 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Extraction  of  Foreign  Bodies  by  Magnets. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Baths,  Improvised  Instruments. 

CHAPTER    XX. 
DISEASES  OF  THE  HEAD  AND  THROAT. 

Catarrh,  Congestive  Headache,  Goitre,  Quinsy. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
NERVOUS  DISEASES.    ^ 
Insomnia,  Stammering,  Lock  Jaw,  Rheumatism,  Paralysis* 
Neuralgia,  Lumbago,  Sciatica,  Insanity. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Fevers,  Inflammations,  Purpura  Hemorrhagica. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Thoracic  Cavity,    Heart  Disease,    Consumption,    Asthma 
Pleurisy,  Pneumonia. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Kidneys,  Bright's  Disease,  Chronic  Cystitis,  Retention  of 
Urine,  Incontinence  of  Urine. 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ABDOMINAL  DISEASES. 
Dyspepsia,  Painters'  Colic,  Bilious  or  Cramp  Colic,  Intro- 
susception.  Cholera;  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Stomach, 
Liver  and  Bowels;  Constipation,  Strictures  of  the  liec- 
tum,  Worms,  Hemorrhoids  or  Piles,  Prolapsus  of  the 
Anus,  Chronic  Diarrhoea,  Hypochondria,  Dropsy, 
Jaundice,  Dysentery;  Liver  Diseases,  acute  and  chronic; 
Obesity,  or  Excessive  Eat.    [PI.] 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Diseases  of   the  Eye,  Conjunctiva,  Lachrymal  Duct. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
SURGERY. 
Abcess  of  the  Antrum,  Talipes  Equmus,  Fractures,  Disloca- 
tions, Bursse,  Boils,  Carbuncles,  Primary  Syphilis,  Burns' 
Scalds,  Rickets,  Ulceration,  Sloughing,  Chilblains. 

CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

Extracts  from  other  writers. 


A  Treatise  Whose  Basis  is  Truth, 


""Truth  always  triumphs.  Truth  is  Ood\s  eldest  child. 
Sh,e  has  cotne  down  through  the  ages  und.efiled^  her  hands 
stainless;  she  asks  no  mask,  seeks  no  hiding  place,  for  she  is 
strong,  brave  and  deathless  as  divinity.'^* 

We  as  true  physicians  want  the  living  vital  truth, 
with  no  limitation  to  keep  back  progress.  The  greatest 
error  of  the  present  is  to  grasp  and  hold  theories  of  the 
past,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  of  to-day,  with  the 
idea  that  old  opinions  must  be  continuous  and  un- 
changing. When  we  look  at  nature  we  learn  a  different 
lesson;  she  is  ever  changing  and  reproducing;  so  we 
must  let  the  inspiration  of  to-day  quicken  our  feelings 
into  the  impregnation  of  new  thoughts,  new  theories 
and  new  truths,  and  let  our  observation  and  research  be 
such,  that  the  development  and  birth  of  these  shall 
share  the  fate  of  all  great  and  useful  sciences.  The 
old  idea  that  truth,  if  new,  must  be  throttled  at  its 
birth,  or  in  its  infancy,  is  passing  away  as  brighter 
intellects  come  upon  the  stage  of  action.  So  this 
new  manifestation  of  an  old  truth  w^ill  live  and  will  be 
hailed  as  the  desideratum  of  the  age,  a  new  era  in  medi- 
cal practice — a  star  of  hope  to  many  a  despondent  siiffer- 

*Mrs.  H.  F.  M.  Brown. 


12  A  Tkeatls:e;  ojs  Electricity. 

er.  We  might  as  well  expect  to  hold  and  chain  the 
lightnings  that  flash  through  the  vaulted  heavens,  or 
quiet  the  thunderings  that  arise  therefrom,  as  to  now 
stop  the  onward  progress  of  electro-therapeutics. 

The  poet  says: 

"Electricity  warms  in  the  sun,  refreshes  in  the  breeze, 
Glows  in  the  stars  and  blossoms  in  the  trees; 
Lives  through  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent, 
Spreads  undivided,  operates  unspent; 
Breathes  in  our  souls,  informs  our  mortal  parts, 
As  full,  as  perfect  in  vile  man  that  mourns, 
As  the  rapt  seraph  that  adores  and  burns. 
It  claims  all  high  and  low,  all  great  and  small, 
It  fills,  it  bounds,  connects  and  equals  all." 


A  TREATISE  ON  ELECTRICITY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


QUESTIOi^S  AND  ANSWERS  IN"  ELECTRO-THERAPEUTICS. 

Q.     Why  is  general  treatment  necessary? 

A.  Because  constitutional  diseases  need  constitution, 
al  treatment  in  connection  with  local  stimulation  to  the 
diseased  parts.  Electricity  arouses  the  whole  nervous 
system,  and  by  that  means  changes  the  circulation,  stimu- 
lates absorption,  and  brings  the  whole  system  under  its 
influence,  to  help  remove  the  disease,  just  as  ten  men 
can  do  a  piece  of  work  in  much  less  time  than  one. 

Q.  Will  an  electrical  diagnosis  find  to  a  certainty 
the  cause  of  the  constitutional  disturbance  ? 

A.  Yes.  If  the  operator  understands  his  business 
he  need  never  make  a  mistake  in  finding  the  cause,  and 
all  its  pathological  symptoms.  It  points  direct  to  the 
disease,  and  when  the  cause  is  known,  the  cure  is  certain 
with  electricity. 

Q.  Why  is  it  that  all  who  take  electrical  treatment 
are  not  permanently  benefited  ? 

A.  If  the  electrical  currents  were  scientifically 
administered  it  would  always  be  permanent,  and  the 
patient  would  gain  more  rapidly  after  they  were  through 
than  while  being  treated. 

Q.     How  were  the  treatments  given  in  the  past? 

A.  Generally  through  the  operator.  Sometimes 
from  the  feet  or  hands,  diffusing  the  current  too  much. 


14  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

Often  the  treatments  were  too  short  to  gain  tonic 
effects,  thus  only  stimulating  the  system,  the  same  as 
when  taking  quinine,  and  as  soon  as  the  stimulus  is  gone 
the  disease  has  the  ascendency. 

Q.  Why  should  not  treatment  be  given  through  the 
operator  ? 

A.  Because  the  current  to  be  felt,  has  to  be  of  so 
strong  a  tension,  that  it  becomes  superficiiiL  and  does  not 
reach  nerve  centers,  and  -if  the  operator  is  diseased,  the 
patient  by  a  magnetic  law  will  absorb  his  disease. 

Q.     Should  the  currents  be  applied  very  far  apart? 

A.  No.  They  should  be  concentrated,  and  not  dif- 
fused, to  give  tonic  results.  When  one  pole  is  applied 
to  the  feet,  the  other  to  the  body,  it  only  stimulates  for 
the  time. 

Q.  Does  the  above  application  ever  permanently 
cure  disease? 

A.  Yes,  if  the  disease  is  not  very  chronic;  but  the 
benefit  is  not  as  certain  to  be  permanent,  as  when  the 
poles  are  in  close  proximity,  and  run  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. 

Q.     Why  do  we  treat  from  the  nerve  centers? 

A.  For  the  purpose  of  running  the  current  from  the 
fountain  head  to  where  it  empties,  or  from  the  nerve 
centers  to  the  peripheral  nerves  into  the  capillary  circu- 
lation, and  by  that  means  discharge  through  the  skin 
the  effete  matter. 

Q,  Why  not  run  the  currents  from  the  peripheral 
nerves  ? 

A.  Because  it  takes  too  much  motive  power  to  run 
electricity  up  hill;  it  is  much  easier  to  run  the  refuse 
down.  To  run  the  currents  from  the  hands  or  feet  it 
takes  strong  tension  currents,  and  that  stimulates  mus- 
cles, and  therefore  is  only  of  temporary  benefit,  besides 
it  causes  the  muscles  to  feel  as  if  overworked. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  15 

Q.  Is  the  above  the  effect  of  the  six  and  nine  cur- 
rent batteries? 

A.  Yes,  if  the  tension  currents  are  used.  But  to 
purify  the  blood  we  must  use  less  tension  and  more 
quantity,  and  the  currents  must  then  run  from  the 
nerve  centers. 

Q.  How  can  we  gam  quantity  when  using  tension 
batteries  ? 

A.  By  wetting  the  sponges  in  salt  water,  and  con-  i 
necting  only  with  the  primary  or  A  and  B  posts,  which  is  ! 
the  electro-galvanic  current. 

Q.     Why  is  this  a  better  current? 

A.  It  has  more  allotropic  or  chemical  action  on  the 
blood. 

Q.  Should  all  diseases  be  treated  to  purify  the 
blood? 

A.  Nearly  all,  in  the  western  climates,  and  more  or 
less  in  all  climates. 

Q.  Which  current  or  pole  snould  be  used  at  the 
nerve  centres  of  the  spine? 

A.  The  positive  or  A  post  of  the  primary,  the  B  or 
negative  should  be  at  the  peripheral  nerves. 

Q.  Why  should  the  negative  be  at  the  peripheral 
nerves? 

A.  Because  it  is  the  absorbing  current,  and  will  take 
up  the  impurities  as  fast  as  the  positive  drives  it  to  the 
surface,  the  same  as  in  electro-plating^  the  silver  is  de- 
posited at  the  negative  pole. 

Q.     Which  current  has  the  most  magnetic  power? 

A.  The  secondary;  the  primary  is  the  galvanic,  it 
gets  its  power  from  chemical  action,  the  secondary  from 
the  magnet  by  induction. 

Q.  Why  is  it  better  to  use  plates  than  sponges  for 
the  application? 

A.  They  diffuse  the  current,  allowing  more  quanti- 
ty without  causing  pain  or  contracting  muscles,  and 


16  A 'Treatise  oit  Electricity. 

absorb  more    impurities,   being    covered    with   heavy 
cloth. 

Q.     Should  sponges  be  used  on  different  patients? 

Q.     Never,  unless  thoroughly  cleansed. 

A.  Why  should  the  positive  current  be  used  on  the 
mucous  surfaces? 

A.  Because  it  is  an  acid,  and  the  mucous  membrane 
is  an  alkali,  and  when  these  two  elements  come  togeth- 
er they  effervesce  and  cause  an  electric  action,  that  pro- 
duces more  natural  secretions.  ^ 
/  Q.  Why  should  the  negative  be  used  on  the  skin, 
/while  the  positive  is  applied  on  the  mucous  surfaces? 

A.  Because  the  negative  is  an  alkali,  the  skin  is  acid, 
and  the  response  is  the  same  as  described  for  the  positive. 

Q.     What  medical  properties  has  salt? 

A.  It  is  a  stimulant,  a  tonic,  and  a  great  eliminator; 
it  is  the  best  remedy  we  have,  for  stimulating  the  glands. 
See  chapter  on  salt. 

Q.     Does  salt  intensify  the  primary  current? 

A.  Yes.  It  gives  just  enough  intensity  to  overcome 
the  resistance  necessary,  so  as  to  use  the  primary  cur- 
rent. It  helps  us  to  reach  deep  nerves  and  glands  that 
cannot  be  reached  without  it.  It  is  important,  because 
in  this  way  we  can  purify  the  blood  by.  stimulating 
the  liver,  and  all  the  excretory  organs. 

Q.     Can  other  remedies  be  applied  externally? 

A  Yes;  and  the  medicine  is  much  sooner  assimi- 
lated, as  for  instance,  if  Atropia  or  Belladonna  is  ap- 
plied on  nerves  leading  to  the  eye,  and  electricity  used, 
its  pupil  will  immediately  expand.  Also,  if  Digitalis  is 
applied  over  the  heart,  its  effect  is  immediate. 

Q.  Should  large  doses  of  medicine  be  used  when 
taking  electricity? 

A.  No;  for  the  reason  that  electricity  intensifies  the 
nerves,  and  there  is  danger  of  their  taking  up  so  much  of 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  17 

the  drug  as  to  produce  poisonous  effects.  I  have  proven 
this  beyond  a  doubt.     Refer  to  chapter  on  medicines. 

Q.  Does  electricity  ever  produce  bad  effects  without 
medicine  ? 

A.     Never;  if  used  with  good  common  sense. 

Q.     Does  electricity  ever  cause  an  aggravation? 

A.  Yes;  if  the  blood  is  impure  and  the  glands  are 
clogged;  but  if  given  every  day,  it  reduces  one  day  that 
which  was  aggravated  the  day  before.  It  arouses  the 
system,  similar  to  taking  cathartics;  as  soon  as  thrown 
off  the  patient  is  better. 

Q.     If  other  adjuncts  are  used  is  the  aggravation  less? 

A.  Yes ;  if  a  cathartic  is  given  with  the  thi  rd  treatment 
and  the  fourth  day  a  vapor  or  electro-thermo  bath,  there 
will  be  no  aggravation  to  speak  of.  But  if  neither  of 
the  above  adjuncts  are  used  we  have  fever  and  stirred  up 
bilious  feeling,  accompanied  with  pain  in  the  region  of 
the  diseased  part,  at  the  third  and  seventh  treatment. 

Q.  Will  electricity  benefit  the  mental  condition  of 
patients  ? 

A.  Yes;  hypochondriacs  and  hysterical  patients  will 
notice  benefit  by  the  third  treatment,  as  the  electricity 
arouses  vital  action. 

Q.     Will  electricity  cure  insanity  ? 

A.     Yes;  if  the  cause  is  removed.     See  insanity. 

Q.  Can  unbalanced  phrenological  organs  be  treated 
so  as  to  be  restored  ? 

A.  Yes;  especially  if  the  fifth  pair  of  nerves  are 
treated;  for  instance  if  a  child  or  person  has  klepto- 
mania, treat  with  a  light  current  to  the  organs  of  secre- 
tiveness  and  acquisitiveness. 

Q.  Can  a  healthy  organ  by  irritated  so  as  to  affect 
the  dreams? 

A.  Yes;  if  any  organ  is  treated  before  retiring.  For 
instance,  I  treated  the  organ   Philoprogenitiveness  on  a 


18  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

lady's  head.  The  next  morning  her  husband  said,  ''you 
need  not  treat  that  organ  again,  my  wife  had  twins  last 
night."  If  Sublimity  had  been  treated  the  dreams  would 
partake  of  the  grand  and  beautiful. 

Q.  Is  it  necessary  to  treat  the  hands  or  feet  each 
time? 

A.  No;  if  the  current  is  applied  to  the  nerve  cen- 
ters, it  will  be  felt  in  the  feet  or  hands  if  the  nerves  are 
not  clogged. 

Q.  If  the  limbs  are  diseased,  are  they  benefited  when 
treated  locally  ? 

A.  No;  not  in  the  same  proportion  as  when  run 
from  the  spine  through;  by  putting  the  positive  current 
in  the  rectum,  the  negative  one  to  the  spine  or  sacral 
nerves,  it  will  be  felt  at  the  feet  more  than  when  ap- 
plied locally,  and  the  benefit  is  greater. 


CHAPTER  IT. 


ELECTRO-THERAPEUTICS. 


The  progress  of  electro-therapeutics  is  very  slow,  and 
at  times  seems  to  almost  pass  out  of  the  minds  of  the 
medical  profession,  as  they  do  not  interest  them- 
selves enough  to  know  anything  of  its  true  value;  for 
the  fact  is  it  takes  labor  to  make  the  investigation,  and 
they  find  the  subject  is  more  intricate  and  extensive 
than  can  be  grasped  in  a  day  or  a  year.  For  this  reason 
and  many  others,  as  well  as  a  lack  of  energy,  they  neg- 
lect to  follow  it  up,  and  are  prone  to  look  upon  it  with 
distrust. 

The  eminent  men  in  the  medical  profession  are  too 
busy,  and  those  whose  time  is  not  all  taken  up  with 
their  professional  duties  are  too  wise;  they  are  not  aware 
that  there  is  any  knowledge  outside  their  individual 
brains,  therefore  this  important  adjunct  has  been  left  in 
the  hands  of  charlatans,  making  it  unpopular  to  many. 
Notwithstanding  the  above,  their  success  has 
been  so  great  as  to  lead  many  thinking  minds  to  an 
investigation  of  the  truths  of  electro-therapeutics,  and 
they  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  of  more  import- 
ance than  drugs  alone.  As  drug  medication  is  losing 
ground,  it  is  necessary  for  the  medical  profession  to 
awaken  to  the  fact,  and  ''grasp  the  plow  and  not  look 
back." 

Some  are  reluctantly  trying  to  investigate,  but  the 
way  is  so  hedged  up  with  theories,  and  our  electrical 
works,  many  of  them,  such  a  conglomeration  of  big 
words    and    technicalites,    without    practical    bearing 


20  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

on  its  true  value,  or  proper  instruction  for  making  the 
application,  that  men  of  science  are  discouraged,  because 
in  their  use  of  it  they  see  no  permanent  benefit. 

The  demand  for  other  theories  spring  from  the  in- 
efiiciency  of  the  medical  profession,  for  all  classes  of 
prevailing  disease.  If  care  is  taken  in  diagnos- 
ing, a  proper  selection  of  remedies  will  control 
acute  or  inflammatory  diseases.  But  chronic  obstruc- 
tions are  seldom  removed  by  the  present  system  of 
medication,  only  palliated  for  a  time,  so  as  to  reappear 
with  more  vigor  in  some  other  form.  And  when  epi- 
demic diseases  are  raging  with  violence,  the  profession 
seem  paralyzed.  They  do  not  seem  to  know  where  to 
look  for  a  panacea  that  will  help  them  in  their  dilemma. 
Is  it  not  possible  and  true  that  a  large  majority  of  both 
epidemic  and  prevailing  acute  and  chronic  diseases, 
are  caused  by  the  impoverished,  poisonous,  and  vitiated 
state  of  the  blood?  and,  as  the  beneficial  effects  of  drugs 
depend  upon  the  vital  action  of  the  stomach,  why 
depress  the  nervous  forces  still  more,  by  drug  medica- 
tion, until  the  vital  powers  are  aroused  by  electrical 
treatment,  as  then  small  doses  of  medicine  will  be  assimi- 
lated, and  success  will  be  the  result.  "Through  the  vital 
action  of  electricity  pains  vanish,  obstructions  are 
removed  and  the  vital  current  is  sent  bounding  through 
the  entire  frame,  dispensing  health  and  strength  to 
the  body  and  vigor  to  the  brain." 

A  deficiency  of  the  electrical  powers  of  the  body, 
both  the  vascular  and  nervous  system,  can  be  resupplied 
by  artificial  means  precisely  as  we  go  to  the  fire  to  warm 
ourselves  when  cold. 

I  have  studied  this  not  as  a  force  of  nature  in  all  its 
wonderful  powers,  as  applied  to  mechanics,  or  into  its 
scientific  researches,  for  the  subject  is  too  extensive ;  it 
would  take  more  than  a  lifetime  for  its  investigation* 


A  Treatise  on  Electr^-city.  21 

I  studied  medicine  for  three  years,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  I  knew  enough  to  take  life  into  my  hands,  and  try 
to  throttle  death  by  receiving  a  diploma;  but  I  have 
studied  electricity  fifteen  years,  its  practical  application 
to  the  prevailing  disease,  and  claim  to  know  but  an 
infinitesimal  part  of  this  wonderful  subject,  yet  I  think 
I  have  learned  enough  to  give  some  instruction  and  my 
experience  in  the  matter  so  that  others  can  make  the 
application  successfully,  and  in  time  give  their  exper- 
ience to  the  world  in  a  more  concise  and  scientific 
manner. 

Those  who  follow  the  directions  as  laid  down  in 
this  work  can  benefit  nine  out  of  every  ten  patients, 
and  cure  the  same  proportion,  if  the  patients  can  be 
held  long  enough  to  eradicate  the  disease.  The  only 
difficulty  is,  as  soon  as  the  patients  feel  better  and  are 
able  to  attend  to  business  or  household  affairs,  they 
stop  the  treatment;  whereas  if  they  would  continue 
it  until  the  blood  was  entirely  free  of  its  effete  matter, 
it  would  be  still  more  permanent.  But  we  as  physicians 
cannot  control  these  conditions,  and  whether  we  will  or 
not  our  shoulders  have  to  bear  the  blame.  I  have  ex- 
perimented with  and  without  using  remedies ;  either 
way  it  is  a  success,  provided  the  doses  are  small.  It  is 
probably  better  to  use  mild  remedies,  if  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  hold  the  patient.  The  people  have 
been  drugged  for  so  long  they  cannot  conceive  how  any- 
thing can  cure  disease  unless  taken  by  the  mouth,  or 
by  hypodermic  injections  or  pads.  Personally  I  have 
used  nothing  but  electricity  for  fifteen  years,  and  have 
positive  knowledge  of  its  power  to  keep  the  blood  pure, 
and  the  nervous  system  strong,  relieve  all  pain  and 
remove  unpleasant  feelings.  If  electricity  will  do  this 
and  that  with  only  perhaps  one  treatment  a  month  on 
an  average,  will  it  not  with  the  proper  application,  allow 


22  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

us  to  live  to  the  age  of  the  patriarchs  of  old,  and  to 
enjoy  life  as  when  younger.  I  know  it  will  keep  the 
teeth  firm  and  healthy,  and  the  hair  soft  and  its  original 
color,  the  skin  soft,  the  circulation  as  good  as  when 
young. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  how  can  electricity  pu- 
rify the  blood?  I  answer,  by  a  chemical  change;  on 
the  same  principle  that  thunder  and  lightning  purify 
the  air  by  causing  combustion,  and  burning  up  the  im- 
purities. What  does  nature  do  when  the  glands  are 
clogged  and  she  cannot  fijet  rid  of  the  heavy  load  ?  she 
causes  a  fever;  if  the  system  is  strong  it  will  be  an  ac- 
tive one  ;  if  overloaded  it  is  of  a  low  form,  and  in  this 
she  makes  a  desperate  effort  to  burn  up  the  refuse, 
and  would  often  do  it  if  some  doctor  did  not  come  in 
with  strong  remedies  and  deplete  the  system  still  more 
instead  of  helping  nature  in  her  efforts. 

We  would  not  think  it  good  judgment  if  a  horse 
had  a  greater  load  than  it  could  carry,  to  load  him  still 
more,  but  would  expect  to  hitch  another  horse  to 
the  load  and  by  this  means  lend  a  helping  hand. 

We  do  not  by  any  means  condemn  the  use  of  reme- 
dies in  fevers,  or  any  other  disease,  but  it  is  much  better 
when  there  is  a  low  form  of  fever,  to  first  vitalize  the 
system  with  a  few  electrical  treatments,  and  then  if  the 
indicated  remedy  is  given,  disease  is  more  certain  to  be 
controlled. 

We  want  -a  remedy  that  adapts  itself  to  the  vital 
wants  of  the  system,  and  electricity  is  a  remedy  that 
when  properly  applied,  leaves  no  injurious  effects,  like 
those  so  often  produced  by  poisonous  drugs. 

A  physician  or  surgeon,  to-day,  might  as  well  be 
without  his  Bistoury  as  his  battery,  and  ought  to  use 
it  as  practically  ;  the  correct  and  proper  way  of 
using  it  has  not  been  understood,  but  many  have  un- 
dertaken its  use  with  limited  experience  and  no  judg- 


A  Treatise  0]s"  Electricity.  23 


ment,  and  consequently  have  made  great  mistakes  and 
brought  its  principles  into  disrepute.  Notwithstanding 
all,  this  agent  is  Grod-given,  and  should  no  longer 
be  ignored  by  the  medical  profession.  It  has  too 
long  been  left  in  the  hands  of  the  uneducated,  and  phy- 
sicians should  buckle  on  their  armour,  and  take  from 
this  class  of  mountebanks  this  truly  wonderful  thera- 
peutic agent,  and  apply  it  as  humanity  and  science  de- 
mand. "As  time  rolls  on,  and  prejudice  after  prejudice 
gives  way,  and  one  innovation  succeeds  another,  the 
American  people  are  becoming  reconciled  to  the  fact 
that  innovation  constitutes  a  part  of  the  immutable 
operations  of  nature,  and  instead  of  repulsing  every 
new  discovery,  and  crying  out  '  humbug '  and 
^collusion,'  making  those  who  harbored  it  either 
ashamed  of  their  dullness  of  apprehension  or  their  ob- 
stinacy, an  intelligent  community  is  ready  to  give  a 
candid  and  respectful  hearing  to  any  theory  in  science 
which  may  be  supported  by  even  the  plausibility  of  ar- 
gument." 

But  for  all  the  above,  the  dayfe  of  medical  intolerance 
are  not  yet  past.  There  are  those  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession to-day  who  would  stop  all  investigation — who 
would  crush  out  every  reform  in  medicine,  had  they 
the  power  to  do  so,  unless  iib  comes  through  the  portal 
of  their  peculiar  belief  or  school  of  medicine.  That 
they  do  not  succeed  in  staying  progress,  is  evident  from 
the  great  improvements  already  made  in  the  healing  art, 
and,  despite  their  continued  opposition,  reform  will  still 
go  on,  till  therapeutics  as  a  science  shall  rest  upon  a 
broad  and  liberal  basis,  till  schools  and  isms  shall  cease 
to  exist,  and  till  the  entire  profession  shall  unite  in  one 
common  brotherhood  and  willingly  investigate  theories, 
selecting  the  good  wherever  found,  and  respecting  the 
candid  opinions  of  all  men  and  women  who  are  supposed 
to  be  honest   and  educated  in    their  profession.      We 


24  A  Treatise  on^  Electricity. 

must  return  to  our  subject:  The  office  of  an  electrical 
physician  is  an  important  one.  How  necessary  it  is  for 
him  to  understand  the  nature  and  application  of  an 
agent  so  important — one  that  can  take  the  place  of  qui- 
nine, strychnine,  etc.?  We  have  nothing  that  will 
equal  it  as  a  stimulant;  it  excites  the  system  and 
arouses  it  to  activity;  it  also  will  take  the  place  of  the 
best  known  tonic.  The  inquiry  now  arises  why  older 
writers  and  electricians  have  not  discovered  these  facts 
and  given  them  to  the  world?  It  must  be  because  in- 
stead of  nerve  centers  they  have  used  the  currents  to 
peripheral  nerves  and  employed  it  only  for  a  local  stim- 
ulant and  its  tonic  effects  were  not  observed. 

Dr.  Scudder  says: ''I  want  to  call  the  reader's  atten- 
tion to  the  absurdity  of  the  common  idea  of  electricians : 
that  electricity  and  nerve  force  were  the  same  or  similar. 
This  is  a  central  principle  with  some  of  them.  It  is 
very  easily  proven  to  be  erroneous.  It  is  just  as  much 
an  error  to  believe  that  nerves  conduct  electricity 
through  the  body,  in  the  ordinary  use  of  the  battery  as 
medicine.  The  experiments  of  scientists  prove  that  one 
tissue  is  quite  as  good  a  conductor  as  another  if  it  is 
continuous.  Electricity  always  takes  the  shortest  road 
home,  and  'don't  go  foolin'  around'  after  nerves  if  it 
can  find  anything  else  as  good. 

''  The  important  question  is, '  How  does  electricity  in- 
fluence the  life  of  the  body  ? '  If  we  take  a  healthy  man 
and  give  him  a  full  dose  (and  it  need  not  be  unpleasant) 
we  will  find  that  the  first  action  is  excitation  and  fol- 
lowing this  a  proportionate  exhaustion.  He  will  feel  as 
sore  the  succeeding  day  as  if  he  had  made  the  first  ex- 
periment at  mauling  rails.  We  can  clearly  see  that  our 
agent  is  a  stimulant,  and  our  patient  has  been  .over- 
stimulated.  Need  I  say  that  we  do  not  want  this  influ- 
ence?" 

We  differ  with  the  doctor.      It    depends   upon   the 


A  Tkeatise  ON"  Electricity.  25' 

length  of  time  the  disease  has  been  standing.  Why 
over-stimulate  a  chronic  ulcer?  we  give  stimulating 
doses  of  quinine  to  promote  absorption.  Electricity  will 
not  cause  a  person  suffering  with  acute  inflammatory 
disease  to  feel  as  though  he  had  been  mauling  rails, 
but  it  relieves  the  soreness.  On  a  perfectly  well  man  the 
currents  can  be  used  with  impunity,  as  the  change  of 
polarity  induced  is  but  temporary,  and  the  instant  the 
powers  are  withdrawn  the  forces  are  equalized,  and  no 
unpleasant  effects  felt.  But  let  the  system  be  clogged 
with  effete  matter,  then  soreness  is  the  result,  especially 
if  the  direction  is  from  the  peripheral  nerves  toward  the 
nerve  center.  Then  the  impurities  are  stirred  up  and 
left  in  the  blood  to  settle  on  the  nerves  and  muscles,  and 
that  causes  soreness,  as  if  they  had  been  "  mauling  rails.'^ 

Influences  change  an  element  from  one  allotropie 
condition  to  another,  and  new  chemical  changes  are  the 
result.  These  chemical  changes  are  efi*ected  by  vital  ac- 
tivities, the  elements  concerned  being  electrolytes. 
Placing  the  negative  pole  farther  towards  its  extremity 
and  using  currents  of  sufficiently  high  intensity,  and 
the  quantity  graded  to  the  strong  muscular  contracting 
tendency,  as  in  the  current  A  D,  Dr.  Kidder's  battery, 
a  strong  current  will  make  the  muscles  sore  and  lame. 
Now  using  the  current  from  A  B,  with  light  power,  the 
soreness  and  lameness  will  almost  immediately  be 
cured. 

Here  is  where  the  mistake  is  made  in  the  present 
make  of  batteries.  There  is  too  much  tension  to  the 
exclusion  of  quantity.  This  is  overcome  by  using  salt 
in  the  water,  enabling  us  to  use  only  the  primary  cur- 
rent, until  the  effete  matter  is  removed.  I  avoid  all 
tension  currents  except  in  paralysis  of  sensation. 

Dr.  Scudder  says  electricity  does  not  go  "fooling 
around''  after  nerves  when  it  can  And  muscle  to  run  on. 
If  scientists  will  find  any   muscles  without  nerves  we 


26  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

will  admit  their  theories  correct,  but  as  nerves  are 
so  minute  that  the  point  of  a  pin  will  detect  them, 
we  will  conclude  electricity  will  take  the  ''shortest 
road  home,"  for  if  it  cannot  find  nerves  in  a  straight 
line  it  will  by  induction  follow  another.  The  muscles 
and  tissues  are  influenced  by  the  nerves.  It  is  through 
the  nerves  that  disease  exists,  and  relief  must  come  by 
the  same  influences  aroused  to  vital  action. 

Too  little  attention  is  paid  to  this  wonderful  net- 
work of  the  nervous  system;  muscles  and  tissues  are 
controlled  by  it,  and  if  it  were  not  for  nerves  the  medi- 
cine used  could  not  be  assimilated.  In  my  chapter 
on  medicine  I  have  tried  to  prove  the  wonderful  power 
of  assimilating  remedies  wheii  nerves  are  intensified 
by  electricity.  Another  journal  says:  '' The  editor 
confesses  to  an  utter  ignorance  of  the  medical 
uses  of  electricity.  He  has  had  some  experience  with  it 
but  nothing  was  learned  further  than  that,  in  his  use  of 
it,  it  was  not  profitable."  Here  lies  the  secret  why  this 
powerful  remedy  has  not  been  more  thoroughly  inves- 
tigated. To  drug  the  sick  pays  better,  and  is  much 
easier  for  the  practitioner.  But  the  time  has  come 
when  the  people  demand  something  more  reliable  than 
medicine  alone,  and  to  this  demand  we  respond,  battery 
in  hand,  and  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the 
medical  profession  will  follow  our  example,  and  use  it 
as  an  adjunct  if  nothing  more.  They  will  soon  see 
that  the  medical  world  has  found  nothing  to  equal  it 
in  the  arcana  of  medicine,  from  the  days  of  Esculapias  to 
the  present. 

One  thing  is  surprising,  that  physicians  will  put  bat- 
teries into  the  hands  of  patients,  for  indiscriminate  use, 
where  they  have  indulged  in  the  most  reckless  abuses. 
These  same  physicians  must  have  applied  it  hap-hazard 
or  they  would  not  have  given  it  to  others  to  use  who 
were  totally  ignorant  of  its  laws. 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  27 

As  far  back  as  the  last  century,  electrical  shocks  were 
administered  in  many  diseases,  such  as  rheumatism, 
paralysis,  etc.,  but  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn, 
the  only  way  in  which  it  was  administered  was  in  this 
manner,  and  few  were  willing  to  submit  themselves  to 
such  shocking  experiments. 

From  the  above  fact  arises  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  we  have  to  contend  with,  these  itinerant  elec- 
tricians i)erambulating  the  country  with  galvanic  bat- 
teries, stopping  at  our  city,,  standing  at  the  corners, 
trying  to  cure  diseases  by  shocks  at  five  cents  a  shock. 
Its  effect  has  an  all-powerful  influence  on  the  invalid, 
and  nothing  short  of  treatment  with  our  mild  induced 
currents  will  convince  them  to  the  contrary.  A  shock 
of  electricity  is  detrimental  to  a  healthy  person,  and 
how  much  more  so  to  a  diseased  one?  The  same  amount 
of  electricity  could  be  applied  to  the  body  with  impun- 
ity, but  the  nerves  of  the  hands  being  more  sensitive, 
renders  the  shock  unpleasant,  and  no  permanent  bene- 
fit can  be  gained. 

In  order  to  effect  a  cure  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 
application  made  direct  to  all  the  nerve  centers  of  the 
spinal  column,  and  all  the  cranial  nerves.  If  we  could 
keep  up  the  communication  between  the  nerves  of  the 
stomach  and  brain,  we  would  not  have  so  much  general 
debility  from  an  overworked  brain  as  we  now  find 
among  our  professional  men.  By  overworking  the 
brain  they  cut  off  the  nervous  supply  by  partially  para- 
lyzing the  pneumo-gastric  nerve,  and  our  first  effort 
when  these  cases  come  under  our  treatment  is  to  treat 
this  nerve,  and  by  that  means  vitalize  the  stomach  and 
cure  the  dyspepsia,  thus  causing  an  equilibrium  between 
the  brain  and  digestive  organs.  This  we  have  proved 
to  hundreds  of  patients,  when  they  supposed  they  had 
heart  trouble,  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys,  and  a 
thousand  and  one  imaginary  diseases,   which  proceeded 


28  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

from  the  supply  of  nerve  force  being  cut  off  between 
the  brain  and  stomach.  The  great  manufacturer  of 
vitality,  the  brain,  must  be  fed  with  nerve  or  electrical 
force  manufactured  from  the  acids  and  alkalies  of  the 
whole  system.  It  is  as  necessary  for  the  whole  body  to 
furnish  these  to  supply  the  electro-vital  force,  as  it  is 
for  the  electrician  to  provide  the  same  to  manufacture 
electricity  from  his  battery.  The  human  body  is  a  bat- 
ery  that  evolves  a  finer  and  a  more  intense  electricity, 
also  providing  its  own  magnetism.  When  by  excesses 
this  is  lost  to  the  individual,  we  can  stimulate  the  ner- 
vous system,  and  produce  an  equilibrium,  thus  res- 
toring health.  This  is  not  done  by  shocks,  but  by  a 
mild  and  pleasant  treatment,  modified  by  our  own  mag- 
netism. As  the  natural  laws  that  govern  electricity, 
and  the  various  and  intricate  functions  of  the  body,  be- 
come better  understood,  the  applications  and  diagnosis 
become  more  and  more  certain.  Even  now,  in  the 
hands  of  a  skillful  operator,  this  agent  will  detect  the 
exact  location  of  any  derangement  of  the  body,  with- 
out asking  a  question. 

We  have  proved  this  remedy  to  be  infallible  in  our 
hands,  in  producing  an  equilibrium  of  the  nervous 
forces,  and  through  that  equalizing  the  circulation  and 
stimulating  nutrition.  This  new  method  of  using  elec- 
tricity will  bear  the  closest  investigation  from  any 
school  of  medicine,  and  we  challenge  the  whole  world 
to  investigate  it. 

We  will  prove  to  them  that  we  can  reduce  acute 
congestion  or  inflammation  in  any  part  of  the  organ- 
ism, such  as  inflami^tion  of  the  lungs,  liver,  bowels 
or  brain,  in  less  than  thirty-six  hours. 

We  cure  chronic  diseases  by  arousing  a  healthy  in- 
flammatory action  of  the  whole  system,  and  treat 
chronic  difficulties  to  gain  the  same  results  that  a 
physician  does  when  he  treats  chronic  ulcers. 


A  Treatise  o^  Electricity.  29 

It  has  taken  years  of  study  to  do  this  from  a  scien- 
tific basis.  We  have  studied  this  and  have  built  a  foun- 
dation of  cure  that  will  bear  the  closest  investigation 
by  the  most  learned.  This  agent  does  not  belong  to 
any  particular  school  of  medicine,  but  is  free  to  all, 
like  water,  but  it  must  be  used  intelligently,  and  by 
those  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  human  sys- 
tem. 

No  one  can  be  better  aware  of  the  length  and 
breadth  of  this  extensive  and  intricate  subject  than 
we  are;  for  a  constant  study  and  experience  of  fifteen 
years  have  convinced  us  that  the  A  B  C  of  it  is  scarcely 
reached  by  the  physicians.  But  we  have  proven  that  it 
has  a  scientific  basis,  which  can  be  reduced  to  practice, 
both  in  teaching,  and  in  its  successful  application  to 
diseases.  We  have  actual  knowledge  of  the  efficacy  of 
electricity,  as  a  remedial  agent  capable  of  producing 
radical  cures  where  everything  else  had  failed. 

To  sum  up  its  power  as  far  as  we  have  proven  it,  is 
this : 

It  arouses  vital  action,  stimulates  organic  life,  elimi- 
nates diseased  matter  by  decomposition,  and  attracts 
the  same  to  the  polls  of  the  battery,  acid  going  to  the 
positive  pole,  alkalies  to  the  negative,  and  also  imparts 
new  vigor  to  the  nervous  system.  The  whole  materia 
medica  does  not  furnish  a  more  powerful  remedy  than 
this  agent,  but  that  influence  depends  entirely  upon  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  employed.  An  electrician  who 
understands  his  business  can  use  it  as  a  stimulant,  or  an 
irritant;  so  quiet  and  beneficial  B^e  its  effects  on  the  kid- 
neys that  it  is  a  pronounced  acute  diuretic.  It  operates 
as  a  sedative  in  quieting  the  nervous  system,  or  acts 
like  an  opiate  in  easing  pain  and  giving  rest.  It  can  if 
necessary  be  used  in  place  of  an  emetic ;  all  this  because 
it  controls  the  vital  powers  of  the  system. 


30  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

The  horrors  of  dyspepsia  in  its  many  forms  are  con- 
ceded to  be  indescribable.  We  meet  persons  daily  who 
have  tried  every  known  remedy  recommended  for  the 
cure  of  this  disease,  but  without  receiving  any  benefit. 
Indeed,  we  assert  from  our  own  observation  and  ex- 
perience, that  there  is  no  medicine  known  that  will  give 
health  and  comfort  to  the  confirmed  dyspeptic.  We 
have  had  much  to  do  with  the  treatment  of  this  disease, 
owing  to  its  almost  universal  prevalence.  More  than 
one-half  of  all  our  patients  sufibr  from  it.  Electricity 
properly  applied,  in  harmony  with  the  polarity  of  the 
nervous  system,  will  cure  every  case,  no  matter  of  how 
long  standing.  By  its  action  the  stomach  and  liver 
are  speedily  restored  to  a  healthy  tone. 

For  the  relief  of  ulcers  and  sores  electricity  is  most 
efficient.  It  arouses  the  dormant  energies,  quickens 
the  absorbents,  increasing  the  vital  action,  and  by  its 
continuance,  the  most  refractory  cases  are  healed. 

For  cases  of  paralysis,  nervous  prostration  and  debili- 
ty, electricity  stands  pre-eminent.  Not  less  potent 
its  effect  in  the  restoration  of  lost  vitality.  In  all 
cases  of  rheumatism  and  neuralgia,  acute  and  chronic 
our  treatment  acts  like  a  charm.  We  claim  that  the 
mechanical  action  of  electricity  is  of  as  much  impor- 
tance as  the  chemical.  It  can  be  made  to  contract  or 
relax  any  abnormal  muscle  or  ligament.  Its  immediate 
effect  is  seen  when  brought  to  bear  upon  hernia,  strict- 
ure, and  especially  upon  diseases  of  women.  The  uter- 
us has  attending  it  a  great  variety  of  complications. 
This  organ,  being  the  grand  nucleus  of  womanhood,  is 
in  sympathy  with  all  other  parts  of  the  body,  causing 
many  symptoms  remote  from  the  true  cause.  The  pres- 
ent degeneracy  of  women  is  due  to  this  sapping  of  the 
very  foundation  of  health  and  vitality.  These  diseases 
in  all  their  different  forms  being  the  result  of  weakness 
and  relaxation   of  the  muscles   and  ligaments  holding 


A  Treatise  on-  Electricity.  31 

this  organ  in  place,  no  permanent  benefit  can  be 
experienced  until  the  nervous  energies  are  restored, 
and  the  muscles  and  ligaments  are  contracted.  We 
have  proved  by  hundreds  that  this  can  be  done 
by  the  proper  application  of  electricity  in  from 
one  to  three  months'  time.  The  exciting  cause  in 
thousands  of  cases  is  the  present  mode  of  treating  these 
diseases  by  specialists.  It  were  better  our  women  had 
no  treatment  at  all  than  to  become  victims  of  these 
gynecologists.  Having  made  a  special  study  of  all 
diseases  of  women,  and*  treated  them  with  unparalleled 
success,  I  dare  to  assert  that  electricity  will  cure  all 
the  diseases  women  are  heir  to,  without  exposure  of 
person.  No  caustic,  bleeding,  pessaries,  or  surgical 
operations  are  necessary,  except  in  some  extreme 
cases.  Away  with  local  .treatment  in  any  form,  when 
we  learn  that  disease  originates  in  the  nervous  system, 
in  the  electro-vital  force  of  the  body,  and  not  in  the 
blood,  and  that  in  health  the  nerves  are  the  motive 
power  of  the  body.  Then  will  we  all  value  this  remedy 
as  the  best  agent  known  for  building  up  the  general 
health,  thereby  relieving  all  local  diseases.  We  want  a 
remedy  that,  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  gastric 
juices  of  the  stomach,  will  generate  nervo-electrical  force 
for  the  natural  stimulation  of  that  organ.  When  the 
stomach  and  all  the  digestive  organs  are  manufacturing 
pure  blood,  ulceration  and  inflammation  will  vanish  like 
dew  before  the  sun,  and  all  local  treatment  is  useless 
unless  this  can  be  accomplished. 

Why  do  we  have  abnormal  growths?  They  exist  in 
consequence  of  weakened  vitality,  and  must  cease  as  the- 
healthy  tone  of  the  vital  forces  are  increased.  We  have 
proven  this  in  many  cases  of  ovarian  fibroid  tumors 
and  all  kinds  of  fungus  growths.  We  stimulate  the  ab- 
sorbents to  carry  off  as  fast  as  we  decompose,  by  the 
chemical  action  of  electricity.    It  is  not  logical  or  con-^ 


32  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

sistent  to  suppose  a  radical  cure  of  this  class  of  diseases 
could  be  effected  by  local  treatment  alone,  with  electric- 
ity or  any  other  remedy.  Some  physicians  of  great  repu- 
tation do  try  to  disperse  tumors,  cancers  and  other  mor- 
bid growths,  by  local  treatment  with  galvanism.  But 
what  are  the  results?  They  do  often  reduce  the  growth, 
but  at  the  expense  of  some  vital  organ;  in  two-thirds 
of  these  cases  death  ensues  from  a  metastasis  of  the  dis- 
ease. The  only  successful  way  to  make  a  permanent 
€ure  is,  as  fast  as  we  decompose  morbid  matter,  to  give 
general  treatment;  treat  all  nerve  centers,  producing 
an  equilbrium  between  innervation  and  nutrition;  stim- 
ulate the  skin,  bowels  and  the  absorbents:  by  so  doing, 
causing  the  corrosive  particles  to  be  thrown  off  through 
the  channels  God  designed.  The  whole  secret  of  success 
in  the  use  of  this  agent  is  in  the  mode  of  application. 
What  would  be  the  result  of  a  medical  man's  experience, 
if  instead  of  studying  materia  medica  he  should  give 
his  prescription  hap  hazard  ?  Just  the  same  result  as 
when  a  physician  undertakes  to  use  this  glorious  ele- 
ment of  nature,  without  making  a  special  study  of  it. 
Any  surgeon  can  perform  an  operation,  but  a  good  sur- 
geon knows  just  when  and  where  to  cut  and  never  make 
a  mistake.  So  success  will  crown  the  efforts  of  an  elec- 
trician that  understands  the  different  currents  and  is 
familiar  with  the  nervoms  system. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MAGNETISM  AND  ELECTKICITY 

Of  the  vastness  of  these  subtle  elements  there  is  no 
conception.  Heaven,  with  its  system  of  worlds,  is  un- 
der the  control  of  these  agents.  They  are  the  lever 
power  of  nature.  It  is  by  the  marriage  of  these  magnet- 
ic properties  of  the  earth  and  the  electric  action  of  the 
sun,  that  the  seed  is  caused  to  grow  and  develop  into 
beauty  and  vegetable  increase.  Human  and  all  animat- 
ed beings,  are  subject  to  the  same  electric  and  magnetic 
laws  that  govern  the  universe.  Dr.  Atkinson,  of  Eng- 
land, and  many  others,  have  decided  that  magnetism  and 
electricity  are  not  identical,  and  liiffer  in  the  effects 
which  they  produce  upon  the  weather  and  climate.  He 
says  their  operations  are  as  distinct  as  heat  and  cold: 

^^ Magnetism. — The  intensity  of  the  magnetic  forces  in 
different  parts  of  the  earth  is  according  to  the  distance 
from  the  poles. 

^^Electricity. — The  intensity  of  electric  force  is  great- 
est at  the  tropics,  and  diminishes  as  it  approaches  the 
poles. 

^''Mag. — The  frigid  zone,  where  magnetism  is  in  the 
greatest  intensity,  enjoys  an  atmospheric  calm,  which  is 
unknown  in  temperate  regions.  It  has  no  such  storms, 
no  hail,  and  scarcely  a  tempest. 

^^Elec. — The  most  vivid  lightning  and  the  loudest 
thunder  are  peculiar  to  the  tropics;  here  vegetation  is 
vigorous  and  active  at  all  seasons. 

^"Mag. — Magnetism  suspends  the  decomposition  of 
vegretable  and  animal  matter. 


34  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

^''Elec. — Electricity  assists  decomposition  in  all  vegeta- 
ble and  animal  substances. 

^^Mag. — Magnetism  produces  a  sedative  action  on  the 
human  form,  v^^hen  applied  under  certain  conditions  and 
causes. 

^^Elec.  —  Electricity  is  of  an  exciting  character, 
increasing  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  arousing 
paralyzed  conditions  of  the  nerve  centers." 

We  see  from  the  above  that  electricity  and  magnet- 
ism, when  out  of  the  human  body,  act  directly  opposite 
But  the  marriage  of  these  two  elements  is  essential 
to  the  development  of  perfect  health ;  they  are  dual  in 
their  manifestation  when  acting  in  harmony.  In  treat- 
ing disease  with  electricity,  if  the  operator  is  strongly 
magnetic,  he  modifies  the  electric  action  to  the  benefit 
of  the  patient.  All  admit  that  electric  conditions  of  the 
atmosphere  have  a  decided  influence  on  the  general 
health.  Every  one  experiences  a  heavy  and  depressed 
feeling  when  the  air  is  surging  with  negative  electricity. 
Dr.  Faraday's  researches  on  the  electric  action  of  the 
air  throw  light  on  the  aggravation  of  diseases  at  dif- 
ferent times  of  the  day,  as  well  as  the  increase  and  de- 
crease of  epidemics  and  other  diseases  in  different 
months  of  the  year. 

According  to  statistics  the  greatest  number  of  deaths 
takes  place  in  the  morning,  when  there  is  the  least 
quantity  of  electricity  in  the  air. 

In  the  earlier  periods  a  certain  stone  of  dark  color 
was  found  in  iron  mines,  and  was  named  loadstone. 
All  know  its  wonderful  magnetic  properties  in  attract- 
ing to  itself  iron,  steel  and  other  metals.  Usually  the 
smaller  the  magnet  the  more  power  it  possesses.  A 
magnet  was  once  found  weighing  but  the  twentieth 
part  of  an  ounce,  which  could  lift  a  piece  of  iron  forty 
times  its  size.     The   Emperor  of  China  once  owned  a 


A  Treatise^on  Electricity.  35 

magnet  weighing  38  fts  that  could  lift  200  lbs.  His- 
tory tells  us  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton  had  a  magnet  ca- 
pable of  lifting  a  piece  of  iron  250  times  its  own  weight, 
set  in  a  finger  ring.  The  compass  is  due  to  this  mag- 
netic property.  The  earth  seems  to  be  a  vast  magnet 
'and  all  the  developments  of  the  various  phenomena  of 
magnetism  are  due  to  this  fact.  The  most  powerful 
magnets  are  produced  instantly  by  causing  the  voltaic 
current  to  pass  around  a  piece  of  soft  iron.  This  is  the 
motive  power  of  electro-magnetic  machines. 

The  galvanic  battery  is  a  combination  of  cups,  each 
containing  the  material  necessary;  the  power  depends 
on  the  number  of  cups..  One  of  its  recent  results  is  the 
production  of  electric  light ;  it  is  far  more  brilliant  than 
gas ;  and  another,  whose  practical  benefit  exceeds  the 
former,  is  the  telephone. 

What  is  electricity,  is  it  a  substance  or  a  power? 
Wells'  definition  is:  "  Electricity  is  one  of  those  subtle 
elements  or  agents  without  weight  or  form,  that  seems 
to  be  diffused  through  all  nature,  existing  in  all  sub- 
stances, without  effecting  their  volume  or  temperature, 
or  giving  any  indication  of  its  presence  when  in  a  la- 
tent state;  but  when  liberated  from  this  repose,  is  ca- 
pable of  producing  the  most  sudden  and  destructive 
effects,  and  exciting  powerful  influence,  either  by  a 
quiet,  long  or  constant  action."  The  decomposition  of 
a  substance  by  electricity  is  called  electrolysis.  The 
literal  meaning  of  this  word  is  loosening  by  electricity. 
Upon  applying  the  electrical  current  to  nerves  we 
loosen  the  morbid  matter  attached  to  them.  Grolden- 
bird  says:  '^  We  can  produce  electricity  through  any 
porous  diaphragm." 

There  are  generally  acknowledged  to  be  three  prin- 
cipal sources  of  electricity,  viz:  heat  or  thermo,  fric- 
tional  or  static,  and  chemical  action.  The  human  body 
when  in  health  generates  all   these  three.     First,   the 


36  A  Treatise  on^ Electricity. 

alkalies  and  acids  through  the  mucous  and  serous  sur- 
faces evolve  galvanism;  by  the  motion  of  the  body,  static 
or  frictional  electricity;  and  is  not  the  brain  a  perfect 
thermo  pile,  with  its  layers  of  white  and  gray  matter, 
the  gray  matter  generating  the  electricity,  the  white 
nerve  fiber  being  its  conductor,  and  all  modified  by  the 
magnetism  of  this  wonderful  machine  when  in  health, 
disease  being  caused  by  a  disturbance  of  these  forces  ? 

In  inanimate  bodies  at  rest  we  find  no  discernible 
electricity;  the  attraction  of  one  of  the  forces  is  equal 
to  the  repulsion  of  the  other,  and  to  produce  action 
the  negative  and  positive  forces  must  be  disturbed. 
This  is  illustrated  in  thunder  storms;  one  cloud, 
positively  charged,  comes  in  contact  with  another 
in  a  negative  condition,  and  as  these  forces  on  meet- 
ing always  tend  to  an  equilibrium,  the  concussion 
creates  a  sound  similar  to  that  of  a  Ley  den  jar. 

The  philosopher  Thales  of  Miletus,  one  of  the  seven 
sages  of  Grreece,  first  discovered  the  manifestation  of 
this  mysterious  force  by  rubbing  a  piece  of  amber 
with  a  dry  cloth.  The  science  of  electricity  dates  from 
1600,  when  Dr.  Gilbert  of  Colchester,  physician  to 
Queen  Elizabeth,  in  a  work  on  magnetism  first  used 
the  word  electricity.  The  first  electrical  apparatus 
was  made  in  1672  by  Otto  YonGruerick,  which  was  a 
simple  frictional  machine.  We  hear  nothing  more  of 
consequence  in  regard  to  electricity  until  1791,  when 
Galvani,  an  Italian  professor  of  anatomy,  announced 
the  discovery  which  he  had  made,  that  muscular  con- 
traction was  produced  in  the  leg  of  a  frog,  recently 
killed,  when  two  metals,  such  as  zinc  and  silver,  were 
applied,  one  to  the  crural  nerve,  the  other  to  the 
muscles  to  which  the  nerve  is  distributed,  and  then 
brought  in  contact.  To  this  discovery  we  owe  the 
science  of  galvanism. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  37 

The  first  voltaic  pile  was  constructed  by  Volta  in 
1799,  and  became  known  in  England  in  1800. 

The  first  intelligent,  comprehensive  theory  was  ad- 
vanced by  Dr.  Franklin;  he  discovered  that  atmos- 
pheric and  frictional  electricity  were  similar,  and  was 
first  to  demonstrate  that  water  was  the  best  con- 
ductor, by  drawing  fire  from  the  clouds  with  his  kite- 
string.  His  success  seemed  doubtful.  No  sparks  be- 
ing received,  he  was  about  to  retire  from  the  contest 
chagrined  and  crestfallen,  when  a  sudden  dash  of 
rain  dampened  his  kite-string,  thus  making  it  a 
good  conductor,  which  brought  the  desired  result. 
His  proving  this  fact  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  the 
electrician,  for  water  is  the  principal  conductor  be- 
tween wire  conductors  and  the  nerves  of  the  body. 

To  Professor  Faraday,  the  greatest  electrician  of  the 
world,  are  we  indebted  for  our  present  substantial 
electrical  theories.  He  proved  that  the  contact  of 
two  dissimilar  metals  always  caused  a  chemical  ac- 
tion, also  that  electricity  was  evolved  by  chemical  ac- 
tion where  contact  was  impossible;  this  is  called 
induction. 

To  him  we  are  indebted  for  the  mild  and  inter- 
rupted current  of  the  present  style  of  battery.  The  in- 
duced current  modifies  the  galvanic  current,  thus  mak- 
ing it  more  available  for  medical  use.  The  discovery 
of  the  induced  current  by  Faraday  in  1831-2  has 
changed    the    whole    course    of     electro-therapeutics. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  ago  a  German  physician 
reported  he  had  cured  a  case  of  paralysis  of  a  finger 
by  sparks  drawn  from  an  electrical  machine.  Since 
that  time  intelligent  men  of  every  nation  have  ex- 
perimented with  a  view  of  curing  disease.  Every  year 
some  new  and  important  discovery  has  been  made,  and 
gradually  the  various  facts  have  become  systematically 


SS  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


arranged,  and  now  scientists  admit  that  electro- 
therapeutics are  a  science. 

What  great  things  have  been  developed  in  that 
hundred  years,  and  what  wonders  have  been  demon- 
strated since  Dr.  Franklin  proved  the  identity  of  elec- 
tricity !  A  hundred  years  ago  physiologists  did  not 
dream  that  electricity  was  the  key  to  physiology,  that 
electricity  was  life;  they  did  not  dream  that  electricity 
was  the  healing  principle  in  our  own  bodies,  that 
the  electro-vital  force  under  the  control  of  the  will 
keeps  the  system  in  health.  In  disease  medicine  pro- 
duces its  effect;  it  helps  to  equalize  the  vital  forces; 
it  is  used  to  prop  or  support  some  weak  point,  to 
aid  nature  in  restoring  herself. 

Medicine  produces  a  physical  impression,  but  never 
heals  disease.  The  curative  power  is  in  the  individual; 
it  is  in  the  movable  life-giving  fluid  that  moves  the 
blood;  it  is  the  electricity  of  the  body  that  does  the 
work. 

So  closely  bound  together  are  physiology  and  elec- 
tricity, and  the  whole  science  of  medicine,  that  a 
close  study  of  it  has  become  indispensable  to  all  suc- 
cessful medical  men  and  women. 


CHAPTER  IV.     . 

IS   ELECTRICITY   LIFE? 

"  Electricity  is  not  life,  but  it  is  that  power  by  \ 
which  vitality  acts  upon  and  controls  the  elements  j 
and  material  matter  for  the  development  and  per-  / 
fection   of  its  own  peculiar  form   of  life/' 

Plants  may  be  made  to  grow  more  when  under 
the  influence  of  galvanism  in  one  week  than  they 
would  in  a  month  without  it.  Weak  and  en- 
feebled children  may  be  made  to  develop  strength, 
and  that  rapidly,  by  a  proper  use  of  electricity, 
as  it  stimulates  organic  life.  It  always  excites  I 
each  individual  organ  and  each  organism  as  a 
whole  to  a  normal  action  and  never  to  a  diseased 
one.  The  muscles  contract  under  its  influence, 
the  liver  is  aroused  to  an  increased  activity,  the 
salivary  glands  to  produce  a  free  supply  of  sa- 
liva; and  so  with  all  the  organs  of  the  body,  each 
may  be  aroused  to  an  'increased  activity  by  this 
most  powerful  stimulant.  It  has  the  power  of  ex- 
citing action  without  exhausting  natural  vitality, 
hence  it  is  not  followed  by  the  corresponding  de- 
pression. If  not  used  with  too  strong  currents  a  ho- 
meopathic dose  of  electricity  scientifically  given  is 
inspiring  to  the  nervous  system,  while  an  allo- 
pathic dose  with  a  reversed  current  would  produce 
extreme  debility  and  depression  of  spirits.  The  ex- 
cessive use  of  it  in  large  doses  tends  not  only  to 
relax,   but  even  to    disorganize   the   nerve   and  mus- 


40  A  Treatise  on  Klectrigity. 

cular  tissues,  severing  and  breaking  up  *the  polarity 
of  the  system  and  causing  paralysis. 

When  physiology  is  usually  treated  as  a  science, 
and  presented  as  a  part  of  the  foundation  of  a  thor- 
ough medical  education,  then  of  course  it  embraces 
the  whole  of  organic  life. 

All  classes  of  organized  beings  and  organisms  have 
their  appropriate  chapters,  according  to  their  mode  ot 
development.  But  with  electricity  we  give  place  to 
one  grand  phase  of  physiology  and  an  indispensable 
science  to  the  healing  art. 

Hanneman  in  his  organism  says:  ''The  homeo- 
pathic method,  or  that  which  employs  medicine 
producing  symptoms  similar  to  those  of  the  mal- 
ady, is  the  only  one  of  which  experience  proves 
the  certain  efficacy."  Again  he  says:  "  This  is 
grounded  upon  the  therapeutical  law  of  nature,  that 
a  weaker  dynamic  affection  in  man  is  permanently  ex- 
tinguished by  one  that  is  similar,  of  greater  intensity, 
yet  of  different  origin."  There  is  not  a  remedy  in  our 
homeopathic  materia  medica  that  can  equal  the  dy- 
namic power  of  electricity,  or  that  can  be  adminis- 
tered with  so  much  certainty.  If  the  totality  of 
symptoms  are  studied  and  the  application  of  elec- 
tricity is  understood,  the  result  we  wish  to  gain  is  as 
certain  in  acute  diseases  as  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  sun.  And  the  same  can  be  said  of  chronic 
diseases,  if  we  intensify  or  potentize  the  nervous  sys- 
tem with  electricity,  arousing  an  acute  vital  condi- 
tion. 

One  thing  that  all  must  learn,  who  use  this  reme- 
dy, IS  that  we  never  can  gain  a  greater  intensity,  so 
as  to  neutralize  and  absorb  a  lesser  dynamic  condi- 
tion, by  using  the  superficial  currents,  or  by  local 
application    alone.      We     must    give    general     treat- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  41 

merit,  and  the  currents  must  be*^  run  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  natural  flow  of  the  nerve  forces,  from 
the  nerve   centres  to  the  peripheral  nerves. 


CHAPTER   V. 

DO   MEDICINE   AND   ELECTRICITY   HARMONIZE? 

We  could,  in  answering  this  question,  occupy  consid- 
erable time  and  space;  but  we  will  say  that  remedies 
given  in  small  doses  will  prove  beneficial  in  connection 
with  electricity.  Knowledge  is  valuable  when  founded 
on  truth  and  experience.  The  latter  has  taught  me  that 
simple  remedies,  in  small  doses,  with  good  nursing,  will 
be  better  appreciated  and  give  better  satisfaction  than 
the  large  doses  of  medicine  formerly  given.  To  be  suc- 
cessful we  must  use  good  judgment  and  common  sense 
in  administering  our  remedies.  In  past  years  the  physi- 
cian came  to  the  house  in  his  carriage,  with  his  sleek- 
coated  horses  and  colored  driver,  or  perhaps  he  walked, 
and  to  aid  him  carried  his  gold-headed  cane.  He  came 
in  with  a  pompous  air  and  wise  look,  drew  off  his  kid 
gloves,  placed  them  and  his  beaver  on  the  table  with  an 
air  that  said  ''Who  but  I."  He  daintily  touched  the 
pulse,  looked  at  the  tongue,  asked  a  question  or  two, 
shook  his  head  mournfully  and  looked  wise.  He  wrote 
his  prescription  with  a  gold  pencil,  and  sent  to  the  drug 
store  for  a  half-pint  or  more  of  drugs,  which  caused  the 
patient  to  feel  worse  and  the  stomach  to  rebel  at  the 
nauseating  stuff.  Why,  the  looks  of  the  doctor  made  the 
patient  worse!  Why  didn't  he  come  with  sunlight  in  his 
face,  tell  the  patient  he  will  be  up  soon,  give  his  simple 
remedies,  kiss  the  little  ones,  and  leave  the  patient  feel- 
ing better  in  spirits  if  not  in  body  ?  And  people  are  com- 
mencing to  see  the  difference,  and  demand  more  rational 

42 


A  Tkeatise  oi^  Electricity.  43 

treatment.  Is  medicine  a  science,  or  is  it  a  lottery  ? 
This  question  might  be  asked  with  good  reasons  for  so 
doing.  Although  we  have  advanced  in  the  so-called  sci- 
ence of  medical  treatment,  yet  there  are  many  physicians 
to  whom  it  is  an  experiment.  They  know  that  fifteen 
drops  of  aconite  and  four  ounces  of  water ,  a  teaspoonful 
every  three  hours,  will  reduce  fever  immediately  after 
giving,  but  they  don't  know  why,  nor  do  they  know  that 
one-third  of  the  aconite  given  every  half-hour  not  only 
reduces  the  fever  but  holds  it  down.  Some  experiment : 
'•  If  this  don't  cure  I  will  try  that,"  and  continue  their 
experiments  until  the  patient  passes  to  some  other  phy- 
sician, or  to  Him  who  sent  him.  Others  study  everj^new 
remedy  until  they  are  satisfied  it  is  good  or  bad,  and 
then  use  it  or  cast  it  aside  accordingly  These  are  the 
ones  who  are  at  the  head  of  the  profession. 

In  electricity  we  have  an  agent  that  will  materially 
aid  these  remedies  if  they  are  administered  in  a  judicious 
manner,  and  in  many  cases  the  electricity  alone  will  pro- 
duce better  results  than  when  used  in  connection  with 
drugs.  But  one  thing  must  be  remembered  and  never 
lost  to  the  mind's  eye:  When  using  electricity  give 
smrill  doses.  This  we  have  proved  by  the  experience  of 
fifteen  years.  I  often  heard  people  say,  "Electricity 
does  not  agree  with  me."  I  questioned  them,  and 
found  it  was  the  strong  medicine  they  were  taking  in 
connection  with  the  electricity,  that  did  not  agree  with 
them.  Electricity  stimulates  the  nerves  and  absorbents 
to  such  a  degree  that  they  take  up  and  show  the 
poisonous  effects  of  the  medicine.  For  instance,  if 
arsenic  or  strychnine  is  given  in  large  doses,  and  elec- 
tricity applied  within  twelve  hours,  the  patient  will 
show  the  poisonous  effects  of  the  remedy,  when  small 
doses  of  the  same  remedy  would  have  been  harmonized- 

I  will  cite  a  case  I  had  in  1879,  while'  practicing  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Mrs.  G.,  age  40:  Found  her  with  retro 


44  A  Treatise  on  Elecpricity. 

version  of  the  uterus.  She  was  under  the  care  of  an  old- 
school  physician,  and  did  not  wish  to  discharge  him, 
but  desired  me  to  treat  her  without  his  knowledge, 
which  I  very  foolishly  agreed  to  do.  I  gave  her  four 
general  treatments.  Upon  my  fifth  visit  I  found  her  in 
bed  very  ill.  She  had  been  taken  sick  at  midnight  and 
sent  for  her  family  physician,  who  pronounced'-it  poison- 
ing from  morphia,  the  drug  having  been  introduced  into 
the  vagina,  the  evening  before,  in  the  form  of  a  supposit- 
ory. The  doctor  was  very  much  surprised  at  the  symp- 
toms, and  enquired  if  she  had  taken  any  more  than  he 
gave.  Being  assured  she  had  not,  he  could  not  under- 
stand the  reason  for  such  bad  results.  He  made  a  digital 
examination,  and  finding  the  uterus  replaced,  went  away 
believing  that  the  morphia  suppository  had  per- 
formed the  cure.  She  failed  to  inform  him  that  she  had 
used  electricity.  I  told  her  then  that  the  treatment  I 
gave  had  replaced  the  uterus,  but  I  did  not  tell  her  it 
was  the  cause  of  her  sickness.  She  believes  I  cured  her 
and  the  doctor  thinks  his  morphia  did;  and  she  occa- 
sionally remarked  in  after  years,  "  Didn't  we  fool  Dr.  D 
nicely?" 

About  eight  years  ago  I  called  on  a  man  that  had  a 
partial  dislocation  of  the  spine,  causing  paralysis.  I 
asked  him  if  he  didn't  want  to  try  electricity  for  his 
trouble.  He  answered,  ''  I  have  been  nearly  killed  with 
electricity.  I  was  thrown  into  spasms  soon  after  I  com- 
menced treating  with  it."  I  asked  him,  "  What  medi- 
cines, if  any,  were  you  taking  at  the  time?  "  Now,  mark 
his  answer:  "  Strychnine  in  large  doses."  ''  Your  spasms 
were  caused  not  by  the  electricity  but  by  the  strych- 
nine," and  in  a  few  minutes  convinced  him  of  the  fact- 
These  few  hints  will  be  sufficient  to  put  others  on  their 
guard.  Two-thirds  of  the  people  I  treat  sooner  or  later 
develop  some  drug  poison,  most  frequently  salivation. 
I  have  aroused  the  mercurial  poison  and  produced  com- 


A  TreItise  on  Electricity.  45 

plete  salivation,  where  no  mercury  had  been  taken  for 
years,  and  in  one  case  as  many  as  thirty  years  had 
passed  since  the  last  dose  had  been  taken;  but  a  few 
treatments  throw  it  off  and  pass  it  out  of  the  system 
through  the  natural  channels.  Sometimes  the  patient 
under  the  sponge  will  be  extremely  nauseated;  if  so,  I 
usually  find  Fowler's  solution  or  other  forms  of  arsenic 
have  been  taken.  Strychnia  causes  nervous  spasms. 
Electricity,  as  we  apply  it,  stirs  up  all  the  poison,  no 
matter  of  what  na-ture,  and  if  the  treatment  is  con- 
tinued it  will  entirely  eradicate  it  from  the  system, 
whether  it  be  zymotic  or  mineral. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SALT    OR   CHLORIDE  OF   SODIUM. 

I  consider  salt  an  important  and  essential  element, 
as  an  adjunct  to  electricity;  together  they  work  in  har- 
mony and  help  us  to  diagnose  with  more  certainty 
than  could  possibly  be  done  without  it.  I  will  briefly 
give  some  of  the  principal  reasons  why  we  consider  it 
of  so  much  importance,  both  for  diagnosing  and  giving 
electrical  treatments. 

"Salt  has  some  characteristics,  peculiar  to  itself,  dif- 
fering from  all  other  compounds  or  elements,  organic 
or  inorganic.  It  is  not  in  any  sense  nourishing,  as  it 
does  not  furnish  support  to  any  organ  or  function,  and 
does  nothing  towards  sustaining  life,  as  has  been  often 
proved  in  the  case  of  the  shipwrecked  and  famishing 
sailor.  Neither  is  it  a  chemical  agent,  combining  with 
some  other  element  in  the  system  to  effect  a  necessary 
change,  as  the  acids  combine  with  alkaline  bases  and 
remove  effete  matter  fVom  the  system  in  the  excretions; 
but  it  is  chloride  of  sodium,  wherever  found,  in  the  stom- 
ach, in  the  blood,  or  in  the  excretions.  But  whatever 
else  is  accomplished  in  the  system  by  salt,  its  essential 
use  is  that  of  a  condiment,  exciting  the  excretory  or- 
gans to  do  their  duty,  and  certain  it  is,  that  it  does  in- 
cite to  action  the  salivary  and  other  glands.  Take  into 
the  mouth  a  bit  of  salt  fish,  and  the  mouth  is  immedi- 
ately filled  with  saliva,  and  when  it  is  received  into  the 
stomach,  the  gastric  juice  also  immediately  gushes  out. 
Of  these  efi'ects  on  the  glands  of  the  mouth  and  stom- 
ach we  can  have  no  doubt,  as  they   are   under  the  ob- 

46 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  47 

servation  of  our  senses;  but  of  the  effects  on  the  liver, 
the  pancreas,  and  other  glands,  we  have  only  to  judge 
by  inference,  but  the  inference  is  certainly  fair,  that  if 
the  glandular  system,  as  far  as  we  can  know,  is  stimu- 
lated to  action  by  salt,  the  other  glands,  whose  action 
we  cannot  observe,  but  whose  duties  are  also  connected 
with  the  process  of  digestion,  may  also  be  effected  by 
the  same  agent.  My  conclusion,  therefore  is,  that  salt 
promotes  digestion  by  exciting  the  glands,  and  inducing 
the  production  and  flow   of  their  secretions."* 

Fifteen  years  experience  with  salt  in  treating  diseases 
is  enough  to  warrant  me  in  believing  and  acknowledg- 
ing the  truth  of  the  above. 

Salt  also  stimulates  absorption.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  eliminators  we  have,  and  a  remedy  that  should 
stand  pre-eminent  in  our  Materia  Medica,  in  all  chronic 
affections.  Chemical  analysis  shows  that  the'  blood  is 
composed  of  the  fourteen  elements  which  help  to  make 
up  the  different  parts  of  the  system.  When  the  blood 
is  normal  salt  is  found,  but  when  impure  there  is  a  de- 
ficiency of  salt.  Some  physiologists  claim  that  salt 
helps  to  keep  the  blood  in  fluid,  and  in  our  opinion  salt 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  keeping  the  blood  pure 
and  normal.  We  have  in  many  instances,  where  the 
blood  was  thick  and  sluggish,  used  large  doses  of  salt, 
to  wet  the  sponges  in  for  external  application  of  elec- 
tricity, and  immediate  benefit  was  the  result,  and  in  a 
few  days  the  red  and  vitalized  blood  would  be  bounding 
with  vigor  through  the  entire  system.  We  apply  salt 
cloths  to  the  liver,  spleen,  and  kidneys,  wrapped  around 
our  plates  at  each  treatment.  When  the  patient's  breath 
is  foetid  we  order  salt  and  charcoal  to  be  taken  before 
each  meal;  one-third  salt  to  two-thirds  pulverized  char- 
coal in  water,  small  doses  each  time.  Salt  alone  on  the 
tongue  is  a  benefit  in  dry  sore  throats  and  coughs. 

*  Dr.  Bellows  in  his  "Philosophy  of  Eating." 


/ 


48  A  Treatise  oi^r  Electricity. 

Salt  gives  power  to  overcome  resistance.  It  acts 
with  greater  energy  in  reaching  deep  nerve  centers,  and 
seems  to  give  a  larger  quantity  of  electricity,  which  en- 
ables us  to  use  the  primary  or  electro-galvanic  current. 
This  gives  a  better  allotropic  or  chemical  action  in  the 
blood.  If  impure,  it  changes  the  effete  matter,  and  the 
glands  and  absorbents  are  stimulated,  so  that  we  gain  a 
two-fold  benefit,  because  the  impurities  are  discharged 
through  their  natural  channels.  If  it  were  not  for  salt, 
we  would  be  obliged  to  use  the  secondary  or  tension 
currents,  A  D  posts,  instead  of  A  B,  or  the  primary  cur- 
rent. 

This  knowledge  of  the  power  of  salt  has  been  worth 
thousands  of  dollars  to  me,  when  looking  from  a  finan- 
cial standpoint;  but  of  how  much  more  value  is  it  to 
suffering  humanity  ?  This  one  thing  gives  a  wonderful 
power  over  the  present  method  of  usmg  the  secondary 
or  tension  currents,  and  many  who  have  experimented 
and  seen  only  temporary  benefits,  and  given  up  in  de- 
spair, and  condemned  the  best  and  most  specific  remedy 
we  have,  may  now  investigate  with  all  confidence  of  suc- 
cessful results.  The  world  has  been  blessed  with  many 
inventions,  but  electricity  when  perfected  is  the  greatest 
and  best  of  all,  and  will,  as  the  people  become  educated 
to  it,  stand  out  prominent  and  alone,  above  all  others. 
The  best  means  of  using  electricity  is  the  most  impor- 
tant study  for  every  intelligent  person.  The  basis  of  a 
true  knowledge  of  the  best  modes  of  application  will 
give  power  over  disease  that  could  be  obtained  in  no 
other  way.  The  greatest  want  now  is  an  improved 
make  of  batteries,  that  can  be  adapted  to  any  part  of 
the  system  without  strong  tension  currents. 

I  use  about  one  heaping  teaspoonful  of  salt  to  one 
quart  of  water.  If  the  disease  is  very  chronic,  and 
many  treatments  given,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  use 
too  much  salt,  or  it  will  act  as  an  irritant.     I  have  had 


A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity.  49 

cases  of  irritation  of  the  bladder  from  overdoses  of  salt. 

As  was  said  before,  salt  is  salt,  wherever  found,  and  is 
thrown  from  the  system  through  the  skin  and  urinary 
organs,  causing  irritation  where  too  much  is  used. 
Remember  small  doses  of  everything  are  best. 

By  Dr.  Gunn:  "Common  salt,  medically  called  muri- 
ate of  soda,  is  one  of  the  most  abundant  productions  of 
nature;  is  tonic,  purgative,  anthelmintic,  and  external 
stimulant;  administered  in  some  cases  of  dyspepsia  and 
worms;  in  large  doses  to  check  hemorrhage,  or  bleeding 
from  the  stomach,  lungs  and  bowels;  and  used  as  an  in- 
gredient in  clysters,  as  a  fomentation  in  bruises,  and, 
added  to  water,  a  stimulant  bath.  In  many  cases  of  dis- 
ordered stomach,  a  teaspoonful  of  salt  is  a  certain  cure. 
In  the  violent  internal  pain  termed  colic,  a  teaspoonful 
of  salt  dissolved  in  a  half  a  tea  cup  of  cold  water,  taken 
as  soon  as  possible,  with  a  short  nap  immediately  after, 
is  one  of  the  most  effectual  and  speedy  remedies  known. 
The  same  will  revive  a  person  who  seems  almost  dead 
from  receiving  a  very  heavy  fall.  In  an  apoplectic  fit, 
no  time  should  be  lost  in  pouring  down  salt  water,  if 
sufficient  sensibility  remain  to  allow  of  swallowing;  if 
not,  the  head  must  be  sponged  with  cold  water,  until 
the  senses  return,  when  salt  will  completely  restore  the 
patient  from  the  lethargy.  In  a  fit  the  feet  should  be 
placed  in  warm  salt  water,  with  mustard  added,  and  the 
legsbriskly  rubbed;  all  bandages  removed  from  the  neck, 
and  a  cool  apartment  procured  if  possible.  In  cases  of 
severe  bleeding  at  the  lungs,  and  when  other  remedies 
failed.  Dr.  Rush  found  that  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt 
completely  stayed  the  blood.  It  should  be  eaten  dry. 
In  toothache,  warm  salt  water  held  to  the  part  will  re- 
lieve in  most  cases  If  the  gums  be  affected,  wash  the 
mouth  with  brine.  If  the  teeth  be  covered  with  tartar, 
wash  them  twice  a  day  with  salt  water.  In  swelled 
neck  wash  the  part  with  brine,  and  drink  it  also  twice 


50  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

a  day  until  cured.  Salt  water  expels  worms,  if  used  in 
the  food  moderately,  and  aids  digestion;  but  too  much 
salt  meat  is  injurious.  Salt  is  a  most  valuable  remedy, 
and  may  be  relied  upon  in  croup.  The  dose  is  a  tea- 
spoonful,  mixed  with  a  tablespoonful  of  honey  and 
given.  This  recipe  was  given  me  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Fisher,  a  Baptist  minister,  who  says  it  is  a  certain  cure. 
In  bowel  diseases,  especially  dysentery,  cholera  and 
cholera  morbus,  salt  is  one  of  the  best  remedies  known. 
In  such  cases  it  is  to  be  mixed  with  vinegar  and  warm 
water,  and  if  there  is  any  sickness  at  the  stomach,  as 
in  cholera,  add  also  a  teaspoonful  or  two  of  ground 
black  pepper  to  a  tumblerful  of  the  liquid,  to  be  taken 
freely." 

According  to  Dr.  Gunn's  reasoning  it  won't  be  amiss 
to  use  salt  as  I  do,  at  every  electrical  treatment ;  that 
is,  in  the  water  we  wet  our  sponges  or  clothes  in.  The 
current  will  send  it  along  on  the  telegraph  wires  or 
nerves,  to  the  seat  of  disease,  which  is  a  much  easier  way 
than  to  take  it  into  the  stomach. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

PHYSICAL   DIAGNOSING. 

"  Physical  diagnosing  is  a  term  used  to  designate 
those  methods  which  are  employed  for  detecting  disease 
during  life,  by  the  anatomical  changes  which  it  has 
produced."  * 

There  are  seven  methods  of  diagnosing  disease  by 
physical  signs:  inspection,  palpation,  mensuration, 
succussion,  percussion,  auscultation,  and  electricity. 

Inspection  is  to  closelj^  observe  any  changes  in  the 
size,  form,  or  symmetry  of  an  organism,  and  especially 
of  the  thoracic  cavity;  palpation  or  digital  examina- 
tion; mensuration  is  a  method  of  obtaining  information 
of  physical  deformities  by  measurement;  succussion  is 
used  for  diagnosing  pneumo-hydrothorax ;  the  method 
employed  is  to  suddenly  shake  the  patient,  while  the  ear 
is  applied  to  the  chest,  to  discover  if  fluids  are  within 
the  chest  cavity.  Percussion  is  a  method  used  to  detect 
solid  growths,  or  indurations  of  glands,  by  striking  the 
surface  with  the  itips  of  the  fingers,  with  some  interven- 
ing substance  between  the  surface  and  the  fingers.  The 
substance  which  receives  the  stroke  is  called  the 
plessimeter;  it  should  be  made  of  gutta  percha,  the 
hammer  of  rubber.  Auscultation  is  listening  for 
sounds  within  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  by  applying  the 
ear  to  the  surface.  Electricity  is  a  method  employed 
to  detect  obscure  causes  of  sympathetic  diseases. 

There  are  many  mechanical  aids  used  for  diagnosing 
disease  in  all  parts  of  the  body,  such  as  the  crytometer, 

*  A.  Loomis,  D.  D. 


52  A  Tkeatise  on^  Electricity. 


used  to  determine  the  distance  of  the  apex  beat  from  the 
median  line;  this  instrument  was  devised  by  Dr.  Gam- 
mon ;  the  laryngoscope,  for  examining  the  interior  of  the 
larynx;  the  sphygmograph,  used  as  an  aid  to  diagnose 
the  heart,  arteries  and  veins;  it  gives  the  exact  pulse 
wave,  the  frequency  and  regularity  of  the  pulse;  the 
ophthalmascope,  for  diagnosing  the  eye ;  the  microscope, 
tor  examining  the  blood  or  other  fluids,  and  the  tissues; 
the  dynamometer,  for  measuring  the  strength  of  the 
hands ;  the  aesthesimeter,  to  accurately  determine  the  de- 
gree of  tactic  sensibility  of  any  part  of  the  body;  the 
exploring  trochar  is  an  important  aid  to  determine  the 
character  of  fluids  that  may  be  found  in  abnormal  con- 
ditions of  the  body;  specula  of  various  devises  for  explor- 
ing the  ear,  vagina,  rectum  and  urethra;  the  endescopeis 
sometimes  used  for  the  same  purpose. 

While  science  has  been  so  productive  in  the  supply 
of  instruments  for  the  mechanical  diagnosing  of  the 
diseases  humanity  is  heir  to,  why  do  we  have  the  terri- 
ble and  unpardonable  mistakes  that  are  presented  to  us 
everywhere?  We  will  quote  from  some  eminent  au- 
thors the  reasons  why  medical  men  are  not  more  suc- 
cessful :  • 

The  first  is  from  the  late  Dr.  Rush,  in  his  "  Lectures 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,"  where  he  says: 
"Dissections  daily  convince  us  of  our  ignorance  of  the 
seats  of  disease,  and  cause  us  to  blush  at  our  own  pre- 
scriptions." '^  What  mischief  have  we  done  under  the 
belief  of  false  facts  and  false  theories!  We  have  as- 
sisted in  multiplying  diseases.  We  have  done  more. 
We  have  increased  their  mortality ^ — Robinson's  Lec- 
tuser^  p.  109.  And  again  he  says  with  regard  to  failures 
in  the  practice,  ''  Our  want  of  success  is  owing  to  the 
two  following  causes:  1st.  Our  ignorance  of  the  dis- 
ease. 2d.  Our  ignorance  of  a  suitable  remedy." — Ibidt 
p.  79     Dr.  L.  M.  Whiting  said,  in  a    lecture  at   Pitts- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  53 

field,  Massachusetts:  "Were  we  to  see  a  sportsman 
standing  beside  a  grove  continually  loading  and  dis- 
charging his  gun,  without  aim,  among  the  trees,  and  at 
the  same  time  declaring  his  intention  to  be  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  bird  whose  song  he  heard  somewhere  within  it, 
we  should,  without  hesitation,  pronounce  him  non  com- 
pos, and  also  a  dangerous  individual,  and  fit  only  for  the 
straight-jacket  or  mad  house.  Yet  such,  if  we  mistake 
not,  is  very  much  the  course  pursued  by  many  practi- 
tioners in  the  treatment  of  morbid  conditions  of  the 
body  by  medicine.  ''Shoot  Away,^  is  the  motto.  Per- 
chance we  may  hit  the  mark;  if  not,  the  law  is  our  safe- 
guard, and  we  have  the  satisfaction  that  we  have  done 
the  best  we  could." — R.  M.  &  S.  Journal,  Vol.  XIY,  p. 
1 

"  Specific  medication  needs  specific  diagnosing.  All 
agents  employed  as  medicine  act  either  upon  functions 
or  structures,  and  this  action  to  be  curative  must  be  op- 
posed  to  the  process  of  disease."* 

If  the  action  of  a  remedy  is  to  oppose  a  process  of  dis- 
ease, evidently  its  selection  will  depend,  first,  upon  a 
correct  knowledge  of  the  disease,  and  second,  upon  a  cor- 
rect knowledge  of  this  opposition  of  remedies.  The  suc- 
cess of  direct  medication  comes  from  definiteness  of 
diagnosis — determining  the  exact  condition  of  a  func- 
tion or  part.  To  illustrate,  it  is  not  sufficient  in  select- 
ing a  sedative  to  know  that  the  pulse  is  frequent,  using 
alike  Veratrum,  Aconite,  Digitalis,  Grelseminum  or  Lo- 
belia. Frequency  is  but  one  element  of  the  lesion,  and 
we  have  to  determine  in  addition  the  strength  or  weak- 
ness of  the  circulation,  the  degree  of  obstruction  of  the 
capillary  circulation,  and  the  condition  of  the  nervous 
system  that  controls  this  function.  Thus,  where  there 
is  strength,  with  frequency,  we  employ  Yeratrum;   fee- 

*  Dr.  J.  M.  Scudder,  "Specific  Medication." 


54  A  Treatise  oif  Electricity. 

bleness  with  frequency,  Aconite;  excitation  of  the  ner- 
vous system  with  strength  and  frequency,  Gelseminum ; 
atony  of  the  nervous  system  and  tendency  to  stasis  of 
blood,  Aconite  and  Belladonna;  feeble  impulse  from  the 
heart,  without  capillary  obstruction.  Digitalis,  etc.  It 
is  not  sufficient  to  know  that  the  tongue  is  coated,  indi- 
cating an  impairment  or  arrest  of  digestion.  We 
make  this  secretion  give  us  the  history  of  blood  lesions, 
as  well  as  of  gastric  and  intestinal  derangements.  We 
learn  that  pallid  mucous  membranes,  with  white  coat, 
demand  alkalies;  that  deep  red  mucous  membranes  and 
brown  coat  call  for  acids;  that  a  dry,  pasty  coat  requires 
the  alkaline  sulphites,  etc.  It  is  not  necessary  to  con- 
tinue this  subject  further,  for  it  will  be  understood  that 
specific  medication  requires  specific  diagnosis. 

Notwithstanding  the  many  instructions  in  diagno- 
sing that  seem  rational  and  in  conformity  with  reason, 
we  cannot  account  for  the  mortality  prevailing  every- 
where, especially  among  children.  Is  it  not  because 
the  majority  of  physicians  are  fighting  the  disease  and 
ignoring  the  cause?  First,  remove  the  cause  and  the 
system,  ever  ready  to  help  itself,  will  remove  the  dis- 
ease. Many  prevailing  diseases  among  both  children 
and  adults  are  zymotic,  and  the  treatment  should  be 
such  as  will  remove  these  poisonous  obstructions. 
Electricity,  in  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  electrician, 
will  point  directly  to  the  cause,  when  used  as  a  diagnos- 
tic; then  remove  it  and  so  permanently  cure  the  dis- 
ease. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

ELECTRICAL   DIAGl^^OSING. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  we  cannot  depend  upon 
pathology  as  taught  in  our  medical  schools.  If  so 
why  are  so  many  mistakes  made  in  our  medical  circles? 
Here  then  lies  the  great  secret  of  cure  with  electricity, 
for  b}^  an  electrical  diagnosis,  not  only  the  seat  of  the 
disease  is  determined,  but  all  of  its  pathological  condi- 
tions are  disclosed.  I  contend  if  it  had  no  other  recom- 
mendation this  alone  should  make  it  an  object  of  im- 
portance to  every  physician.  The  difficulty  of  proper- 
ly diagnosing  disease  is  one  of  the  great  deficiencies  of 
medical  science.  We  do  not  claim  that  every  one  who 
has  a  battery  can  diagnose  correctly.  We  may  just  as 
reasonably  expect  to  be  cured  by  drugs  given  indis- 
criminately, as  by  electricity  administered  in  the  same 
manner. 

Suppose  you  are  ill;  your  phj^sician  is  called,  looks  at 
3^our  tongue,  feels  your  pulse  and  asks  questions  until 
he  is  satisfied  as  to  your  condition,  and  prescribes  accord- 
ingly. If  you  do  not  improve,  a  consultation  of  ^'medi- 
cal"  gentlemen  of  skill  and  talent  is  called.  They  avail 
themselves  of  the  best  means  in  their  reach  for  exami- 
nation, and  retire  for  private  consultation,  the  result  of 
which  is  something:  as  follows:  Dr.  A.  is  satisfied  the 
chief  difficulty  is  in  the  liver.  Dr.  B.  attributes  it  to 
the  stomach.  Dr.  C.  to  the  spine.  Dr.  D.  to  the  bowels, 
Dr.  F.  the  brain  or  nervous  system,  and  so  on,  accord- 
ing to  their  best  judgment,  experience  and  skill. 

55 


56  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

INSTRUCTIONS. 

Can  we  suppose  that  God  has  not  provided  a  more 
certain  means  of  diagnosing  disease  than  mere 
guess  work,  like  the  above?  Yet  this,  or  some- 
thing like  it,  happens  every  day.  It  is  a  noted 
fact  that  physicians  will  not  agree.  The  instructions 
laid  down  in  the  following  pages  will  always  give  a  true 
diagnosis,  and  any  two  electricians  who  may  diagnose 
the  same  case,  though  miles  apart,  will  always  agree. 

Have  each  patient  procure  a  woolen  shirt,  and  woolen 
blanket.  For  diagnosing  they  should  remove  all  their 
upper  garments  and  put  on  the  woolen  shirt.  Woolen, 
being  a  non-conductor,  keeps  the  electric  current  from 
running  off,  and  also  keeps  the  patient  warm.  Use  a 
cane  rocking  chair,  with  high  back  and  no  arms.  Lay 
the  woolen  blanket  in  the  chair  the  longest  way  across, 
using  a  clean  towel  for  the  patient  to  sit  on,  unless  the 
blanket  is  used  exclusively  for  them.  Now  have  the 
patient  push  the  clothes  down  in  order  to  adjust  the 
sponge  without  wetting  them.  We  leave  the  clothes 
around  the  limbs  to  protect  them  from  the  cold.  After 
all  is  adjusted  to  your  satisfaction,  take  about  a  quart 
of  hot  water,  putting  into  that  a  small  dessert  spoonful 
of  salt  or  Chloride  of  Sodium.  Use  two  good-sized 
sponges  perfectly  clean;  wring  the  smaller  one  out  of 
the  hot  salt  water,  and  wrap  the  small  wire  at  the  end  of 
the  cord,  which  has  been  previously  attached  to  the 
post  A.  Place  this  positive  current  to  coccyx  or  end  of 
the  spine.  Then  take  the  negative  cord,  B,  with  the 
large  sponge  in  your  hand,  sitting  in  a  chair  at  the  right^ 
lower  than  the  one  your  patient  is  using.  You  must 
learn  to  use  the  left  hand  to  diagnose  the  spine  Avith, 
though  it  will  seem  awkward  at  first.  Then  take  the 
sponge  in  the  palm  of  the  left  hand,  in  order  to  make  a 
firm  pressure.     Now  commence  at  the  back  of  the  neck 


A  Treatise  on* Electricity.  57 

at  the  cervical  nerves,  pulling  out  the  plunger  until 
the  patient  feels  the  current  pleasantly,  about  an  inch 
outside  the  box  is  sufficient.  We  have  to  be  governed- 
by  the  condition  of  each  patient;  some  cannot  bear  the 
current  from  the  lightest  switch.  We  were  at  the  cer- 
vical nerves.  Fass  slowly  down,  asking  them  to  tell 
you  when  you  touch  a  sore  nerve.  When  they  des- 
ignate the  place  you  must  know  where  the  nerve  leads 
to.  When  this  condition  is  found  it  denotes  congestion 
or  inflammation  of  the  organ  the  nerves  lead  to,  from  the 
spine.  For  instance,  if  near  the  seventh  cervical  we 
diagnose  dyspepsia  or  some  stomach  difficulty.  If  they 
complain  of  feeling  the  current  go  through  to  the  front 
with  the  plunger  out  only  a  short  distance,  we  diagnose 
general  debility,  If  felt  through  to  the  front  with  a 
moderately  strong  current  the  condition  is  normal.  If 
they  have  nervous  dyspepsia  they  will  feel  sick  or  faint. 
There  is  no  need  of  being  frightened  if  they  do,  but  give 
a  little  camphor  and  wait  a  short  time  until  color  re- 
turns to  the  lips  and  face.  Then  continue  the  diagnos- 
ing. It  is  seldom  this  condition  is  noticed  after  the 
lirst  application ;  the  stomach  has  been  so  long  deprived 
of  its  nervous  action,  that  the  electric  stimulus  is  strong 
until  an  equilibrium  of  the  nervous  force  is  aroused  by 
the  electricity. 

Do  not  be  led  into  the  erroneous  idea  that  because  the 
spinal  nerves  are  sore,  that  there  is  spinal  disease. 
The  spinal  irritation  found  is  only  from  sympathy  of 
diseased  glands  or  organs.  The  spinal  irritation  will  be 
gone  when  the  cause  is  removed.  If  spinal  irritation  is 
found  in  the  dorsal  region,  the  liver,  spleen,  or  pancreas 
is  diseased ;  if  in  the  lumbar  nerves,  the  kidneys ;  if  in 
the  sacral,  the  sexual  organs;  if  at  the  coccyx,  hemor- 
rhoids or  piles.  When  the  throat  or  lungs  are  weak  the 
patient  will  cough,  if  Arm  pressure  is  made  on  the  back 
of  the  neck.     When  the  current  is  strong,  and  it  is  not 


58  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

felt  through  to  the  throat  or  lungs,  and  other  symptoms 
are  present  that  would  lead  you  to  suppose  the  lungs 
might  be  diseased,  you  may  be  almost  certain  of  incipi- 
ent consumption.  And  if  the  lungs  are  not  aroused  to 
a  soreness  by  the  seventh  treatment,  and  they  do  not 
gain  in  strength,  it  is  unfavorable.  But  if  the  nerves 
of  |the  throat  and  lungs  are  sensitive,  the  trouble  may 
all  be  from  bronchial  difficulty.  Then  the  cure  if  treat- 
ed right  can  be  more  certain.  I  have  never  failed  in 
curing  bronchitis,  even  after  the  tubes  were  ulcerated, 
when  the  lung  substance  was  not  involved:  and  have 
cured  cases  of  acute  or  quick  consumption. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  no  mistake  is  made  in  diag- 
nosing the  thoracic  cavity.  Many  patients  are  debilitat- 
ed from  other  causes,  and  have  liver  and  stomach  coughs. 
It  is  more  difficult  to  diagnose  consumption  than  any 
other  disease,  either  with  electricity  or  by  pathology,  as 
taught  in  medical  schools. 

When  the  sponge  is  applied  at  the  base  of  the  brain, 
near  the  medulla  oblongata,  and  the  current  is  felt  run- 
ning up  into  the  head,  and  no  pain  complained  of,  the 
nerves  leading  from  the  base  of  the  brain  are  not  dis- 
eased. When  the  back  part  of  the  head  is  sore  to  the 
electrical  current  there  may  be  sympathetic  trouble,  as, 
for  instance,  if  there  is  sexual  difficulty,  the  organ  of 
amativeness  is  sore;  if  toward  the  ear,  the  kidneys  are 
affected,  etc.  The  current  should  never  be  put  on  the 
forehead,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  a  fiat  bone,  and  as  it 
has  very  little  muscle  covering  it,  the  current  causes 
pain  and  no  benefit  can  be  had. 

When  the  nerves  in  and  over  the  eyebrows  are  sensi- 
tive we  diagnose  catarrh,  other  symptoms  being  pres- 
ent. The  nerves  will  be  very  sensitive  in  facial  neural- 
gia, or  weak  eyes,  or  when  suffering  with  a  cold.  The 
nerve  center  over  the  ear,  called  casserian  ganglion,  is 
.always  more  or  less   sensitive  to  the  electrical  current, 


A  Treatise  oi^"  Electricity.  59 

especially  if  there  is  any  disease  about  the  head  or  face, 
as  it  is  a  nerve  of  sensation,  and  branches  go  from  it  to 
the  teeth  and  all  other  parts  of  the  face,  tongue,  throat, 
stomach,  chest  and  heart.  This  nerve  center  holds  an 
important  part  in  treating  for  insanity,  St.  Vitus  dance, 
or  insomnia,  in  fact  all  nervous  diseases. 

We  have  now  diagnosed  the  spine  and  cranial  nerves. 
We  will  next  pass  the  sponge  down  on  either  side  of  the 
spine,  avoiding  the  shoulder  blades,  because  they  are  flat 
bones,  and  so  will  not  bear  the  current.  Press  the 
sponge  just  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  scapula,  in  the  re- 
gion where  so  many  complain  of  pain;  there  you  will 
strike  the  greater  splanchnic  nerve.  When  in  position 
pull  out  your  plunger  and  see  if  they  feel  the  current 
go  through  to  the  solar  plexus.  If  not  felt  on  either 
side,  the  whole  digestive  apparatus  is  sluggish;  if  felt  on 
the  right  and  not  on  the  left,  the  liver  only  is  sluggish; 
if  the  current  is  felt  through  with  the  plunger  out  an 
inch,  the  digestive  organs  are  healthy;  if  felt  with  a 
very  light  current  the  nerves  are  exhausted  or  weak,  and 
nervous  dyspepsia  is  probably  the  cause.  Now  move 
your  sponge  over  the  kidneys.  If  they  are  sensitive 
there  is  an  inflammatory  or  congested  condition;  if  a 
heavy  current  is  borne  and  not  felt  through,  they  need 
arousing.  If  hips  are  sore  some  bladder  or  sexual 
dif&culty  is  to  be  found  upon  further  investigation. 
Pain  running  down  the  limbs  shows  pelvic  disease,  and 
as  soon  as  the  cause  is  removed  the  pains  will  leave. 
Enlargement  or  congestion  of  the  prostrate  gland  will 
cause  pain  at  the  coccyx  or  lower  part  of  the  spine, 
complicated  with  pain  in  the  limbs.  Uterine  diseases 
will  give  the  same  symptoms. 

We  are  now  ready  to  diagnose  the  front  of  the  body. 
Take  the  sponge  in  the  right  hand,  after  warming  it  up 
with  hot  water.  Do  not  wring  your  sponge  too  dry. 
As  I  said  before,  when  the  current  causes  pain  in  passing 


60  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

the  sponge  over  the  chest,  there  is  bronchial  difficulty. 
If  a  sick  feeling  is  felt,  or  pain  in  region  of  heart,  we  diag- 
nose disease  of  that  organ.  As  it  may  only  be  muscular, 
you  must  further  diagnose,  as  taught  by  the  other  mode 
of  practice,  by  placing  the  ear  over  the  region  of  the 
heart,  etc.  Under  the  left  breast  is  another  point  where 
you  will  detect  some  heart  difficulty.  Generally  this  is 
merely  sympathetic,  from  the  solar  plexus,  and  is 
caused  by  dyspepsia  or  other  disease.  We  often  find  a 
sensitive  nerve  in  passing  over  the  sternum  or  breast 
bone.  This  nerve  leads  to  the  stomach.  Sometimes  it 
is  the  superficial  cardiac  nerve.  Experience  will,  in 
time,  help  to  detect  these  different  nerves.  To  be  a 
good  electrician  the  nervous  system  must  be  understood. 
On  applying  the  sponge  to  the  stomach,  if  it  pulls  up  or 
contracts  with  a  light  current  it  is  weak;  if  it  takes  a 
strong  current  to  contract  it,  a  torpid  condition  is  to  be 
diagnosed;  it  is  very  rare  to  find  the  stomach  sore,  but 
when  a  moderate  current  is  borne  without  complaint 
the  stomach  may  be  considered  normal.  In  diagnos- 
ing the  liver,  notice  if  it  is  larger  on  the  right  side  than 
the  left;  the  same  symptoms  follow  this  as  the  stomach, 
only  it  will  not  pull  up  unless  sluggish  and  enlarged 
from  its  natural  size.  When  healthy  the  current  will 
be  felt  through  without  pain  or  contraction.  If  pain  is 
felt  towards  the  left  side  it  is  the  solar  plexus  of  nerves. 
A  little  farther  to  the  left  will  be  found  the  spleen,  and 
the  same  results  follow  as  in  other  organs.  When  there 
are  uterine  displacements  there  will  be  a  weak,  sore  spot 
near  the  fundus  of  the  stomach,  and  care  must  be  taken 
that  this  is  not  confounded  with  spleen  or  stomach  diffi- 
culties. After  a  digital  examination  of  the  uterine  cavi- 
ties has  been  made  it  can  be  determined.  If  the  uterus 
is  found  congested  to  the  touch,  it  is  well  to  make  a 
speculum   examination,  as  when  diagnosing  with  elec- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  61 

tricity  we  do  not  depend  entirely  upon  it  to  be  certain 
just  what  the  disease  is,  but  it  points  us  to  the  cause. 
Just  what  that  cause  is,  must  be  diagnosed  by  other 
pathological  symptoms  and  other  mechanical  means.  I 
nearly  always,  if  any  obscure  symptom  is  found,  take 
my  plessimeter  and  percuss  the  whole  system,  so  as  to 
be  certain  there  are  no  abnormal  growths  in  the  abdomi- 
nal or  pelvic  cavity.  When  a  dull  sound  is  produced  there 
is  an  abnormal  condition.  When  the  glands  or  organs 
are  healthy  the  sound  will  be  clear.  If  the  liver  is  hy- 
pertrophied  or  congested  it  can  be  readily  detected  in  this 
manner. 

The  bowels  are  a  very  important  part  of  the  body  to 
correctly  diagnose.  When  the  bowels  are  flat  and  hard 
to  the  touch,  and  they  do  not  respond  to  the  electrical 
current,  they  are  sluggish,  the  peritonium  is  thickened, 
the  peristaltic  motion  is  nearly  if  not  quite  lost,  consti- 
pation is  constant,  and  there  is  almost  a  paralyzed  con- 
dition of  the  nerves  controlling  them.  This  may  be  the 
principal  cause  of  your  patient's  disease.  The  treatment 
of  this  condition  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  consti- 
pation and  rectal  diseases.  If  soreness  is  found  in  the 
groin  ovarian  difficulty  must  be  looked  for.  The  pain 
will  often  run  into  the  labias  and  down  the  limbs. 

It  will  take  months  of  hard  study  to  make  a  successful 
electrical  diagnosis,  but  time  will  reward  your  efforts, 
disease  will  be  a  foe  you  will  like  to  battle,  and  with  the 
aid  of  electricity,  conquer.  I  have  used  it  for  fifteen 
years  both  to  diagnose  and  cure  disease,  and  still  learn 
something  new  almost  every  time  I  treat  a  patient,  and 
expect  to  study  and  learn  for  twenty  years  to  come.  I 
am  fifty  years  of  age  and  have  kept  tvell  without  medi- 
cine for  all  these  years.  When  sick  I  use  electricity, 
and  with  from  one  to  three  treatments  all  symptoms  are 
gone  and  health  restored. 

If  the  profession  at  large  would  study  electrical  diag- 


62  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

nosis,  and  by  that  means  make  their  prognosis  more  cer- 
tain, the  people  would  not  lose  their  confidence  in  medi- 
cal science.  Year  after  year  their  prejudices  are  grow- 
ing stronger,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  profession 
make  so  many  blunders  in  diagnosing,  no  two  agreeing 
in  the  same  case.     I  will  cite  one  case  of  recent  date : 

In  the  winter  of  1882  I  w^as  called  to  see  Mrs.  D.,  aged 
50.  She  had  been  under  medical  treatment  about  a 
year.  The  distension  was  terrible,  and  she  could  breathe 
with  difficulty.  The  mechanical  obstruction  was  so 
great  she  could  retain  nothing  on  her  stomach;  her 
bowels  were  constipated.  The  then  attending  physi- 
cians were  Eclectics;  previous  to  these  old  school  physi- 
cians, of  considerable  reputation  as  surgeons.  They 
had  treated  this  case,  first,  for  heart,  then  for  kidney 
disease.  The  then  attending  physicians  were  treating  for 
gastritis.  Having  made  tumors  and  uterine  diseases  a 
specialty  for  years,  I  had  no  hesitancy  in  deciding  in 
my  own  mind,  the  moment  I  looked  at  her,  and  before 
asking  a  question,  that  it  was  a  case  of  ovarian  tumor. 
I  made  a  digital  examination  per  vagum,  finding  the  pel- 
vic cavity  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  After  the 
friends  of  the  family  came  in  I  percussed  the  whole  an- 
terior part  of  the  trunk,  commencing  at  the  throat  and 
passing  slowly  down.  A  distinct  hollow  sound  was  beard 
by  all  present  everything  seeming  normal  until  reaching 
the  umbilicus,  then  a  dull  thud  was  perceptible  to  all.  Af- 
ter using  my  plessimeter  long  enough  to  satisfy  the  friends 
that  the  difficulty  was  in  the  pelvic  cavity,  I  told  them 
that  in  my  opinion  it  was  a  case  of  ovarian  tumor.  They 
were  surprised,  not  one  of  the  attending  physicians  hav- 
ing even  hinted  at  the  fact.  1  told  them  I  could  do  noth- 
ing for  her.  I  advised  them  to  send  for  some  prominent 
surgeon  to  consult,  and  see  if  it  were  not  possible  to  save 
her  by  performing  ovariotomy.  The  patient  said  she 
thought  the  diagnosis  was  correct,  for,  eight  months  be- 


A  Treatise  on-    Electricity.  6^. 

fore,  she  noticed  an  enlargement  on  the  right  side,  and 
spoke  to  her  physician  with  regard  to  it  but  he  paid  no 
attention  to  it.  Another  singular  thing,  was  that  none 
of  them  had  ever  made  an  examination  per  vagum.  It 
was  the  climacteric  period  when  she  was  taken  sick. 
She  had  not  menstruated  since  first  noticing  the  tumor. 
The  attending  physicians  were  very  indignant  to  think 
a  homeopathic  physician  and  especially  one  that  made 
electricity  a  specialty,  had  dared  to  differ  with  them  in 
diagnosing  this  special  case;  their  professional  dignity 
was  hurt  and  they  denied  that  the  above  was  correct,  say- 
ing if  it  were  an  ovarian  tumor  the  distension  wonld  be 
only  on  one  side.  They  claimed  the  distension  was 
caused  by  gas  and  there  might  be  some  water.  As  they 
refused  to  have  ovariotomy  performed,  I  proposed 
through  one  of  the  friends  that  she  be  tapped,  and  if 
fluid  was  there  it  would  relieve  her  for  a  time;  they 
tapped  her  but  nothing  could  be  found  except  a  calloid 
substance  which  adhered  to  the  trochar.  She  grew 
rapidly  worse  and  died  from  suffocation  in  two  weeks 
from  the  time  I  first  saw  her.  The  autopsy  revealed 
the  presence  of  a  calloid  multilocular  ovarian  tumor. 
The  cysts  were  broken  down,  and  the  abdominal  cavity 
was  filled  full  of  this  calloid  substance  and  it  had  crowd- 
ed up  into  the  thoracic  cavity.  The  contents  were 
scooped  out,enough  to  fill  a  large  tub  one-third  full,  beside 
the  main  cyst,  which  was  taken  away  with  the  ovaries 
and  fallopian  tubes.  It  was  said  the  whole  weighed 
from  60  to  70  pounds.  The  uterus  was  enlarged  and  a 
tumor  of  cancerous  nature  growing  from  the  fundus. 
All  other  organs  were  found  to  be  healthy.  My  im- 
pression is  these  physicians  were  at  last  convinced  it. 
was  a  case  of  ovarian  tumor. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

KEMARKS  0:N  GENERAL  TREATMEIH:. 


liOCAL  TREATMENT  FOB  BUKNS. 


Here  the  positive  current  should  not  be  at  the  feet  but  near  the 
burn,  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  or  under  the  arm. 

Each  treatment  given  lasts  one  hour,  and  is  given 
every  day,  for  at  least  ten  days.  After  this  period 
every  other  day  will  do,  but  every  day,  except  Sunday, 
facilitates  the  cure.  Experimenting  has  proved  to  my 
satisfaction  that  the  closer  together  the  treatments  are 
given  the  better  for  the  patient,  both  physically  and 
financially.  For  instance,  if  he  takes  twenty-five 
treatments,  one  every  day,  he  will  be  as  well  at  the 
end  of  thirty  days  as  he  would  be  at  the  end  of  sixty 
days,  provided  he  had  received  only  twenty-five  treat- 
ments in  that  length  of  time.       To  arouse  the  system 

64 


A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity.  65 

and  not  throw  off  as  rapidly  as  possible,  depletes,  or 
causes  irritation  that  would  be  thrown  off  if  the  treat- 
ment was  taken  every  day.  Some  patients  are  weak  and 
debilitated  and  must  be  built  up  before  the  system  can 
gather  strength  to  throw  off  disease.  Such  cases  must 
take  half-hour  or  what  we  call  tonic  treatments.  Often 
what  seems  an  aggravation  from  a  long  treatment,  is 
invariably  controlled  by  the  next  treatment,  that  which 
is  aroused  one  day  being  removed  by  the  absorbing 
electric  powers  the  next  day. 

With  the  first  three  treatments  we  endeavor  to  arouse 
the  blood  poisons,  of  whatever  nature  they  may  be, 
zymotic,  malaria,  or  strong  medication.  When  aroused 
the  patient  complains  of  more  pain  than  usual,  head- 
ache, similar  to  bilious  headache,  or  a  sore  feeling  as  if 
they  had  been  pounded,  or  taken  cold.  These  symp- 
toms only  accompany  very  chronic  cases.  It  is  seldom 
we  fail  to  arouse  this  condition  by  the  third  treatment, 
even  where  the  system  is  filled  with  effete  matter.  We 
aim  to  bring  about  this  condition,  so  as  to  give  a  mild 
cathartic  the  evening  of  the  third  day.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  system  is  now  intensified  by  the 
electrical  action,  and  half  the  amount  of  pills  will  be 
sufficient.  As  a  general  thing  I  give  two  mild  pills, 
sometimes  three.  You  must  be  governed  by  the  slug- 
gishness of  the  system :  I  have  had  cases  where  it  would 
take  seven  pills  to  move  the  bowels. 

The  fourth  day  we  give  a  bath  of  some  kind.  The 
bowels  having  done  their  part  towards  cleaning  out  the 
aroused  effete  matter,  the  skin  must  act  in  conjunction 
with  the  other  organs.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  kid- 
neys are  more  active  with  every  treatment.  If  a  vapor 
bath  is  not  available,  an  electric  bath  is  given,  as  de- 
scribed in  chapter  on  general  treatment.  This  stimu- 
lates the  absorbents  of  the  skin,  and  creates  a  natural 

5 


66  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

tension  of  the  muscular  fibre.  If  a  bath  is  given  the 
effete  poison  is  thrown  off  through  the  skin,  and  by  the 
law  of  magnetic  attraction,  i^  carried  off  by  the  water. 
We  prefer  this  to  the  other  method.  It  facilitates  the 
cure.  The  electric  bath  is  salutary  and  will  be  of  per- 
manent benefit,  although  it  takes  breath  to  convince 
patients  that  they  are  not  worse.  These  old  chronic 
cases  have  been  cold  and  negative  so  long  that  it  fright- 
ens them  to  be  warm  and  in  a  positive  condition. 

We  are  now  ready  for  the  fifth  treatment.  We  di- 
rect our  attention  for  the  three  next  treatments  to  the 
local  difficulties,  such  as  liver,  kidneys,  uterus,  etc.  If 
deemed  necessary  we  give  another  cathartic  the  evening 
of  the  seventh  treatment.  This  is  called  the  crisis. 
The  eighth  day  another  bath  is  given.  Patients  some' 
times  complain  of  feeling  weak  at  this  time,  for  the 
reason  the  disease  is  nearly  gone  and  they  are  let  down. 
We  sometimes  give  mild  tonic  treatment  for  a  day  or  two. 
We  have  been  pulling  our  patient  down  up  to  this  time, 
and  now  commence  building  up.  This  theory  holds 
good  as  a  rule,  for  after  the  tenth  treatment  you  will 
find  your  patient's  circulation  is  better.  The  eyes  will 
show  more  vitality,  the  appetite  will  be  improved,  the 
skin  will  be  moist,  the  tongue  of  a  better  color,  and  the 
pulse  nearly  normal.  They  may  complain  of  more  pain: 
this  symptom  is  much  more  favorable  than  the  chronic 
condition. 

When  the  impurities  of  the  blood  are  all  discharged 
from  the  skin  and  muscles,  they  will  respond  to  the 
current  without  contracting.  When  this  condition  is 
noticed  the  patient  will  build  rapidly,  and  can  be  dis- 
charged with  a  very  few  more  treatments.  Let  me  re- 
peat, when  a  strong  current  from  the  primary  posts 
can  be  borne  without  causing  pain  at  the  liver  or  other 
diseased  organs,  and  the  muscles  feel  the  current  without 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  6T 

contracting  through  the  nerve  centers  to  the  peripheral 
nerves,  the  patient  can  be  discharged  as  cured. 

A  few  days  after  stopping  the  treatment  they  will  not 
feel  quite  as  well.  The  system  will  miss  its  accustomed 
stimulant,  but  that  will  soon  pass,  and  the  electric  forces 
of  the  body  will  rally  and  Dame  Nature  will  then  take 
up  the  good  work,  and  improvement  will  be  permanent. 
It  may  be  as  well  to  give  some  mild  remedies,  to  be 
taken  at  intervals,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  hold 
them  from  trying  something  else,  while  the  system 
reacts.  They  have  been  drugged  so  long  they  will  be 
better  satisfied  if  they  are  dosing  something,  until  they 
are  certain  they  are  well. 

In  using  electricity,  to  gain  the  best  tonic  effects 
and  throw  off  disease,  we  treat  from  the  nerve  centers, 
letting  the  current  run  towards  the  peripheral  nerves, 
carrying  along  the  effete  poisons  from  the  centers  to 
the  circumference,  emptying  them  into  the  capillary 
circulation  in  the  same  manner  that  nature  does.  Let 
the  reader  investigate  the  matter  by  placing  the  two 
plates  on  the  spine  as  directed  in  the  chapter  on  gen- 
eral treatment.  If  the  nerves  are  not  clogged  th&  cur- 
rent will  be  felt  through  the  whole  body  with  the  pri- 
mary current.  If  the  upper  plate  presses  on  the  cer- 
vical nerves  the  current  will  be  felt  to  the  end  of  the 
fingers.  If  the  lower  end  of  the  plate  reaches  the 
splancnic  nerve,  it  will  be  felt  in  the  stomach  and  liver, 
while  the  lower  one  will  send  a  current  through  the 
bowels  and  pelvis,  and  will  sometimes  be  felt  in  the 
limbs.  But  very  few  persons  can  get  the  above  effects 
unless  the  system  has  been  purified  with  a  course  of 
electric  treatment.  When  the  electrodes  are  applied 
through  the  hands  or  feet  it  takes  a  strong  tension 
current  to  be  felt  above  the  elbows,  and  the  impurities 
are  driven  further   towards   the    centers  and   nothing 


A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity. 


gained;  when,  by  the  method  as  laid  down  in  this  work 
a  mild  primary  current,  with  salt  in  the  water  the  con- 
ductors are  wet  in,  can  be  felt  better  than  the  latter 
with  strong  tension  currents.  It  takes  power  to  run 
either  water  or  electricity  higher  than  its  fountain 
head,  but  let  it  run  from  its  source  to  where  it  emp- 
ties and  it  will  flow  with  slight  ripples  and  carry  all 
the  rubbish  with  it,  in  time  bringing  health  and  happi- 
ness because  health  is  restored. 


CHAPTER  X. 

INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  GENERAL  TREATMENT. 


I  ll 


n  Ml 


liOCAIi  FOR   PAIN    IN   THE   ARM. 

The  positive  current  should  be  at  the  back  of  the  neck  and  negative 
in  the  hand,  and  not  the  A.  D.  parts  but  A.  B.  parts. 

Patients  must  be  made  ready  in  the  same  way  as  for 
diagnosing.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  patients 
be  kept  warm  while  being  treated.  Cover  them  with 
all  the  blankets  they  need,  and  put  something  warm  at 
their  feet  if  the  weather  is  cold.  Use  hot  salt  water  to 
wet  the  clothes  in  which  cover  the  plates.  These  must 
be  of  soft  texture  to  conduct  the  electricity,  about  the 
size  of  table  napkins,  of  linen  toweling  or  net  wear. 
The  plates  are  of  brass  of  the  thickness  of  stencil  plate, 
and   of  two  sizes,  about  3x8  inches  and  5x10  inches. 


70  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

They  should  be  made  oval.  We  commence  treating  on 
the  spine  first,  as  this  causes  the  electricity  to  permeate 
the  whole  nervous  system,  arousing  the  poisonous  mat- 
ter in  the  blood,  or  that  which  may  be  collected  on  the 
nerves;  Under  certain  conditions  it  acts  as  a  sedative. 
Take  the  largest  plate,  wet  the  cloth  and  cover  it,  attach 
the  A  or  positive  current,  and  apply  it  lengthwise  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  spine,  then  take  the  small  plate  and 
cover  it  also,  after  the  cloth  is  wrung  out  of  the  hot 
salt  water,  and  connect  with  the  B  or  negative  current 
and  apply  it  between  the  shoulder-blades.  After  the 
plates  are  adjusted  have  the  patient  lie  down.  If  you 
have  have  no  treating  chair,  a  bed  or  lounge  will  an- 
swer. When  lying  down  the  weight  of  the  body  makes 
better  pressure  on  the  plates  and  it  will  be  felt  through 
to  the  deep  nerves  and  glands,  and  more  benefit  is  to  be 
derived  from  it. 

After  all  is  ready  pull  out  the  plunger  and  give 
all  the  current  they  can  take  agreeably.  After  this 
has  run  fifteen  minutes,  if  the  kidneys  are  diseased  put 
both  currente,  one  over  each  kidney  lengthwise,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  spine,  without  letting  them  touch  each 
other,  or  the  circuit  will  then  be  made  on  the  plates 
and  will  not  be  felt  by  the  patient.  After  letting  it 
run  about  five  minutes  if  there  is  sciatic  trouble  or  dis- 
ease in  the  pelvic  cavity,  move  the  plates  down  over 
the  hips  in  about  the  same  way  and  same  length  of 
time,  taking  about  thirty  minutes  for  spinal  treatment. 
Then  move  the  positive  current,  after  rinsing  out  the 
treating  cloths,  to  the  rear  of  the  stomach  on  the  spine 
lengthwise.  Then  take  the  B  or  negative  current,  and 
apply  over  the  lungs  crosswise. 

In  all  applications,  the  strength  of  current  must  be 
gauged  by  the  condition  of  the  patient  and  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  the   part  diseased.     Avoid  strong  currents 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  71 

over  the  heart  until  you  are  certain  there  is  no  heart 
trouble. 

Treat  the  lungs  about  five  minutes,  then  move  the 
plate  lengthwise  over  the  sternum  or  breast  bone,  let- 
ting one  end  reach  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  After  a 
few  minutes,  move  it  crosswise  over  the  liver,  bringing 
one  end  around  under  the  arm  for  the  purpose  of  cov- 
ering the  whole  liver.  This  end  must  be  held  by  the 
operator,  the  other  by  the  patient.  In  most  places  the 
patient  can  hold  the  plates  better  than  the  operator. 
Its  pressure  should  be  firm,  so  as  to  diffuse  the  current 
evenly,  and  they  can  take  a  stronger  current  with  less 
inconvenience.  If  firm  pressure  is  made  on  the  liver, 
with  a  current  that  can  be  felt  to  vibrate  and  arouse  it, 
there  is  more  benefit  gained.  If  the  liver  is  diseased, 
it  will  pull  up,  if  not,  the  current  will  be  felt  though 
pleasantly.  It  is  only  when  glands  and  muscles  are 
clogged  with  effete  poisons,  that  they  contract.  When 
clear,  the  current  runs  like  a  deep  stream  of  water, 
with  very  light  ripples. 

After  treating  the  liver,  move  the  plate  over  to  the 
left  side  in  the  same  manner — this  will  cover  the 
spleen,  the  fundus  of  the  stomach  and  the  pancreas. 
In  treating  the  heart,  bring  the  plate  over  the  left 
breast  at  right  angles,  letting  the  lower  end  of  the 
plate  cover  the  end  of  the  heart,  which  is  felt  with  some 
tenderness  about  two  inches  to  the  left  of  and  lower 
than  the  left  nipple.  In  this  way  it  reaches  the  end  of 
the  heart  that  passes  through  the  diaphragm.  Give 
light  currents  when  treating  at  this  point.  In  this 
manner  we  can  control  pericarditis  and  all  muscular 
diseases  of  the  heart.  If  when  treating  at  this  point 
or  at  the  stomach,  the  patient  feels  faint,  no  fears 
need  be  apprehended.  Stop  the  treatment  for  awhile, 
or  till  the  next  day,  as  it  seldom  occurs  but  once. 

For  treating  the  bowels,  if  the  patient  has   a  pendu- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


loiis  abdomen,  a  large  plate  should  be  used,  about  ten 
by  twelve  inches.  The  plate  on  the  back  can  be  left  in 
the  same  position;  it  covers  more  nerve  centers  that 
control  digestion,  both  spinal  and  sympathetic,  than 
any  other  part  of  the  spine. 

In  uterine  diseases  we  give  the  whole  general  treat- 
ment from  the  vagina  with  the  positive  current  at- 
tached to  the  vagina  electrode,  and  the  negative  cur- 
rent attached  to  the  plate,  only  moving  the  latter  to 
the  front  of  the  body  and  spine ;  and  if  the  uterus  is  the 
seat  of  the  disease  it  will  be  cured  by  the  time  the  gen- 
eral heal  this  regained.  The  local  application  will  be 
found  in  chapter  on  uterine  diseases. 

We  do  not  treat  the  limbs  before  the  fourth  time. 
If  vapor,  mineral,  or  electro-thermal  baths  are  not 
available  we  give  three  general  treatments,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  third  day  a  mild  cathartic.  The  fourth 
day  a  bath  is  taken  if  possible;  if  not,  then  what  is 
called  an  electrical  sponge  bath,  by  using  a  sponge  as  in 
diagnosing  and  sponging  the  entire  body,  arms  and 
legs.  While  sponging  the  body,  have  the  patient  sit  on 
the  positive  current.  When  treating  the  limbs  remove 
the  positive  to  the  feet.  If  the  feet  are  cold  put  them 
into  a  pail  of  hot  salt  water  with  the  current  in  the 
water,  and  rub  the  limbs  down  with  the  negative.  It 
will  carry  off  the  effete  matter  more  effectually  than  the 
other  method. 

For  treating  the  head  either  let  the  patient  sit  on  the 
positive  current,  or  attach  it  to  a  plate  placed  between 
the  shoulders,  as  the  closer  the  currents  are  together 
the  more  they  are  felt.  The  present  mode  of  having 
one  current  at  the  feet,  while  giving  general  faradization, 
is  only  wasting  time,  as  the  benefit  derived  is  nothing 
compared  to  that  received  when  the  currents  are  concen- 
trated near  and  on  the  diseased  parts.  To  give  the  base 
of  the  brain  a  thorough  application,  take  the  sponge  in 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  73 

the  left  hand,  pressing  it  firmly  to  the  back  of  the  neck, 
lirst  wetting  the  hair;  put  the  right  hand  on  the  fore- 
head so  as  to  make  the  current  felt  through  the  entire 
back  part  of  the  head,  down  the  arras  and  in  the  throat. 
This  is  not  effected  by  the  amount  of  current  used  but 
bj'  the  firm  pressure.  Frontal  headache,  catarrh,  or 
pain  in  the  eyes  can  be  treated  by  having  the  patient 
take  one  end  of  the  treating  cloth  in  the  right  hand  with 
the  current  enclosed  in  it,  and  the  left  hand  holding  the 
other  end  of  the  cloth.  Have  them  rub  around  the  eyes 
and  over  the  nose  with  the  left  hand.  Bring  the  right 
hand  closer  to  the  left  until  the  current  is  felt  pleasant- 
ly to  the  sore  nerves.  This  is  the  way  we  give  what  we 
call  beauty  treatment,  by  rubbing  the  face  with  the  cloth 
charged  with  electricity.  It  clears  the  complexion  of  yel- 
low, moth,  and  pimples,  if  taken  in  connection  with  gen- 
eral treatment.  The  above  conditions  being  caused  by 
diseases  of  the  digestive  organs,  to  clear  the  complexion 
permanently  they  must  be  cured,  or  the  local  beauty 
treatment  would  go  for  nothing.  Toothache,  or  neural- 
gia of  the  face  can  be  treated  in  this  way  and  cured. 


liOCAIi   TO   THE    EYE. 

Here  the  currents  are  run  in  the  wrong  direction.  The  Positive  should 
be  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  the  Negative  over  the  eye. 


CHAPTER    XL 

BATTEKIES  AN"D  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  USING  THEM. 


Machine  with  Tip  Batteries.    Price,  $24. 

We  call  the  attention  of  the  profession  and  the  in- 
valid to  the  kind  and  quality  of  batteries  shown  in  the 
following  pages.  They  are  so  devised  and  are  of  such 
variety  that  they  will  meet  the  wants  of  both  the  physi- 
cian and  the  family.  So  important  is  electricity  that 
all  are  seeking  and  asking  for  new  and  better  instruc- 
tions in  its  application  for  permanently  curing  disease. 

The  objection  to  it  constantly  raised  by  physicians  to 
their  patrons  is,  that  it  is  only  a  stimulant,  and  so  ben- 
efits for  a  short  time  only.  This  assertion  only  proves 
their  ignorance  of  the  best  modes  of  using  it.  If  they 
will  use  it  according  to  the  instructions  here  laid  down, 

74 


I 


A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity.  '      75 

they  will  find  it  a  permanent  blood  purifier.  When  the 
circulation  is  equalized  and  the  blood  pure  a  cure  must 
be  permanent,  much  more  so  than  when  drugs  are  used, 
none  of  the  bad  effects  of  medicine  being  left  in  the  sys- 
tem. 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  batteries  manufac- 
tured, and  electricity  is  generated  with  different  fluids 
and  elements.  The  writer  has  had  no  personal  experi- 
ence with  any  except  those  in  which  electricity  is  gener- 
ated from  the  Smee  element,  with  sulphuric  acid  and 
water.  This  battery  is  easily  kept  in  order  and  the  ex- 
pense is  a  mere  trifle  to  keep  it  running.  Kidder's  is 
run  with  the  above  element.  The  Galvanic  Company's 
and  the  Mcintosh  are  carbon,  and  the  fluid  used  is  sul- 
phuric acid  and  bi-chromate  of  potassa. 

I  have  become  satisfied  that  the  mode  of  application 
is  of  more  importance  than  the  kind  of  battery  used. 
All  electro-magnetic  machines  must  be  understood,  to 
be  kept  in  order,  and  good  care  must  be  taken  of  them 
that  they  maj^  be  always  ready  for  use.  The  elements 
must  not  be  left  in  the  fluids  when  not  in  in  use.  I 
keep  a  large  cover  over  my  batteries,  in  the  shape  of  a 
box  without  a  bottom,  but  with  a  lid  to  it.  This  I  put 
over  the  battery  on  the  office  table  when  in  use.  No 
smell  of  the  fluid  comes  in  the  room  and  it  also  keeps 
the  dust  out  and  prevents  those  who  are  treated  noticing 
how  the  currents  are  used.  Many  think  they  are  hav- 
ing a  large  battery  used  when  it  is  only  a  No.  4  office 
battery,  lliis  size  is  large  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes.  I  sometimes  use  two  and  three  elements 
connected,  when  I  want  more  quantity  and  less  ten- 
sion. 

The  fault  I  find  with  all  the  electro-magnetic  ma- 
chines is  that  they  make  too  many  tension  currents, 
robbing  the  primary  current  of  quantity,  so  that  it  can 


76  A  Treatise  on^  Electricity. 

only  be  used  with  salt  or  more  cells  added.  The  second- 
ary currents  are  of  no  practical  benefit  in  the  permanent 
curing  of  disease,  as  they  only  stimulate  for  the  time. 
It  is  the  use  of  these  currents  which  has  led  to  the 
present  belief  of  physicians,  that  the  benefit  of  elec- 
tricity will  not  be  permanent.  I  can  do  more  in  one 
week  with  the  primary  current  than  I  can  in  a  month 
with  tlie  secondary.  It  will  not  purify  the  blood;  the 
primary  will,  if  currents  are  run  so  as  to  carry  the  im- 
purities into  the  capillary  circulation,  and  the  bowels 
and  excretory  organs  are  aroused  to  do  their  work. 

I  know  that  the  manufacturers  will  not  agree  with 
me  nor  be  pleased  with  these  assertions,  but  this  book  is 
written  to  give  to  the  world  the  truth  as  I  see  it.  I 
have  experimented  over  and  over  again  and  proved  these 
facts.  Many  have  given  it  up  and  say  there  is  no  ther- 
apeutic value  in  electricitj^,  but  this  is  not  true.  I  know 
there  is,  and  have  proved  it  by  permanently  curing  dis- 
eases of  every  description,  and  my  patients  gain  more 
rapidly  after  a  course  of  treatment  is  finished  than  while 
it  is  in  progress.  To  be  successful  we  must  have  the 
allotropic  or  chemical  change  we  get  from  the  primary 
current  of  the  electro-magnetic  machines.  The  galvan- 
ic battery  gives  the  chemical  change  but  does  not  stimu- 
late the  absorbents  to  carry  oflp  as  fast  as  the  former.  I 
am  certain  there  is  a  mistake  made  in  manufacturing 
the  strong  tension  currents.  It  costs  more  to  make 
them  and  is  a  waste  of  time  and  material.  It  is  an  er- 
roneous idea  that  we  can  get  six  and  ten  kinds  of 
electricity  when  nature  provides  but  three.  It  is  too 
large  a  pill  to  take,  even  if  it  is  sugar-coated.  Let  the 
batteries  be  manufactured  with  the  primary  and  one  sec- 
ondary post.  We  would  rather  have  one  of  that  kind 
than  a  dozen  six  and  nine  current  batteries,  and  we  are 
told  by  the  manufacturers  we  can  have  them  made.    We 


A  Treatise  on-  Electricity. 


77 


intend  to  keep  on  hand  all  the  best  batteries,  with  and 
without  strong  tension  currents,  with  instruments,  ele- 
ments, strings,  and  everything  for  repairing  old  batter- 
ies at  manufacturers'  prices.  The  price  of  this  book 
is  $2.50,  but  it  will  be  sold  to  physicians  with  and  with- 
out battery  for  $2.00. 

Direct  to  Dr.  S.  E.  Morrill  or  L.  C.  Abbey,  agent, 
533  John  street,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 


Smee's   element,  used  in  Kidder's  Apparatus.    The  zinc  furnishes 
negative  (N)  and  the  platinum  positive  (P)  electricity. 

The  electricity  in  Kidder's  ap- 
aratus  is  generated  by  an  ordi- 
nary Smee's  battery. 

Smee's  element  is  represented 
in  the  accompanying  cut.  It  is, 
on  the  whole,  the  simplest  of  all 
forms  of  batteries.  It  is  composed 
of  two  plates  of  zinc  and  one  of 
platinum,or  platinized  silver,  held 
firmly  together  by  a  brass  clamp, 
or  rubber  stopper,  and  acted  upon 
by  a  solution  composed  of  one 
part  sulphuric  acid  to  eight  parts 
of  water.  When  the  element  is 
in  action  hydrogen  escapes  from 
the  surface  of  the  platinum. 

It  is  necessary  to  understand 
at  the  outset  the  distinctions 
between  the  terms  employed  in 
describing  an  apparatus  for  the 
f  aradic  current. 

The  battery  is  the  zinc  and 
platina  in  the  solution.  It  is 
sometimes  called  the  element  or  celj.  The  helix  is  the  coil 
of  wires,  boxed,  and  covered  by  a  movable  metallic  tube. 

The  two  together  constitute  the  machine  or  apparatus. 
The  term  battery  is  very  frequently,  though  incorrectly,  ap- 
plied to  the  apparatus  or  machine. 


78 


A  Treatise  ok  Electricity. 


No.  4. 

Office  and  Family  Machine  shown  without  the  Lid. 

No.  4  has  three  coils,  and  six  variations  of  the  qualities  of  the  cur- 
rents, and  is  operated,  by  one  open  battery  which  is  for  weeks  and 
months  constantly  ready  for  use,  without  changing  the  fluid,  and  a 
bottle  accompanies,  into  which  the  fluid  can  be  poured  whenever 
desired.  Price,  with  switch  arranged  to  use  the  second  coil  in  the 
primary  circuit,  when  desired,  $20.00. 

Price  without  switch  arrangement,  $18.00. 

We  also  put  the  No.  4  machine  in  the  same  size  case  as  No.  5.  and 
supply  with  it  a  Tip  Battery.    Price  complete,  $24.00. 


In  many  of  the  ordinary  machines  the  rheotomes  are 
very  capricious  and "  unreliable,  and  their  adjustment  se- 
verely taxes  the  patience,  and  not  unf requently  has  perma- 
nently discouraged  physicians  from  makinsj  any  experiments 
in  electro-therapeutics. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  79 

This  apparatus  has  three  coils  of  wire. 

A  B  gives  an  induced  or  secondary  current  of  high  quan- 
tity and  low  intensity,  and  also  the  so-called  extra 
current — that  is,  the  current  induced  by  the  inner  coil 
on  its  own  windings. 

B  C  gives  an  induced  current  of  moderate  quantity  and 
moderate  intensity. 

A  C  combines  A  B  and  B  C,  but  does  not  give  the  full 
quantity. 

C  D  gives  a  current  of  high  intensity  and  low  quantity. 

A  D  gives  the  whole  power  of  the  apparatus —low  quan- 
tity and  high  intensity. 

The  battery  and  helix,  conductors  and  electrodes,  to- 
gether with  a  bottle  for  holding  the  solution,  are  all  enclosed 
in  a  small  box,  which,  when  provided  with  a  handle,  as  it 
should  be,  is  very  conveniently  portable. 

The  advantages  of  this  apparatus  are  these: — 

1.  It  is  simple  in  its  construction  and  easily  managed. 
Smee's  is  the  simplest  of  all  batteries,  and  requires  but  lit- 
tle attention  to  keep  it  always  in  working  order. 

2.  The  qualities  of  current  that  it  affords  are  better 
adapted  for  the  various  purposes  for  which  the  f aradic  cur- 
rent is  employed  than  those  of  any  other  apparatus  with 
which  we  are  acquainted. 

3.  It  is  reliable.— A  very  prominent  fault  with  most  of 
the  faradic  instruments  is  uncertainty  of  action.  To  meet 
the  wants  of  the  practitioner  an  apparatus  should  at  all 
times  be  ready  for  action,  and  should  give  a  current  of  suffi- 
cient power  to  meet  every  possible  requirement  of  which 
the  faradic  current  is  capable.  The  department  of  electro- 
therapeutics has  been  greatly  retarded  by  the  uncertainty 
of  the  apparatus  employed,  and  the  annoying  difficul- 
ties attendant  on  their  management.  A  machine  that  is 
properly  constructed  should  give  a  current  of  at  least  mod- 
erate strength,  even  when  it  is  not  kept  absolutely,  faultless- 
ly clean.  The  practitioner  may  be  assured  that  if  a  machine 
requires  constant  cleaning,  watching,  and  adjusting,  there 
is  somewhere  a  fault  or  deficiency  in  its  construction. 

The  apparatus  we  have  been  describing  is  reliable  at  all 
times,  even  when  it  has  been  long  neglected ;  it  gives  a  much 
stronger  current,  however,  when  it  is  new  and  clean,  when 
the  solution  is  fresh  and  strong,  and  the  connecting   wires 


80  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


are  bright  and  polished,  than  when  the  opposite  conditions 
exist.  And  yet  the  overworked  practitioner  or  specialist, 
for  whom  it  is  impossible  to  keep  all  portions  of  the  appa- 
ratus jn  perfect  order,  will  not  usually  be  disappointed,  in 
operation,  and  will  find  that  even  with  tolerable  care  it  will 
serve  its  purpose  for  many  years. 

KULES  FOR  THE  USE  AND  CARE  OF  THE  APPARATUS. 

To  prepare  the  apparatus  for  use. — Fill  the  glass  cup 
with  a  solution  of  water  and  sulphuric  acid — one  part  sul- 
phuric acid  to  eight  or  twelve  parts  water.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  be  rigidly  mathematical  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of 
the  sulphuric  acid.  The  average  proportion  is  one-tenth, 
but  it  may  range  between  one-sixth  and  one-sixteenth. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  put  about  a  teaspoonful  of  quicksil- 
ver in  the  cup.  This  touches  the  lower  end  of  the  zincs  and 
keeps  them  constantly  amalgamated.  Amalgamation  is 
necessary  in  order  to  preserve  the  zincs  from  too  rapid  de- 
struction, and  to  prevent  the  branch  currents  that  may 
arise  through  the  impurities  of  the  zinc.  In  order  to  amal- 
gamate zincs,  before  they  have  been  used,  it  is  necessary  to 
first  moisten  them  with  a  weak  solution  of  sulphuric  acid 
before  pouring  on  the  mercury. 

The  quicksilver  should  not  be  allowed  to  touch  the  central 
plate  of  platinum,  as  it  may  injure  it. 

The  jar  should  be  about  two-thirds  filled  with  the  solution. 

Unite  the  two  pieces  of  zinc  with  the  platinum  between 
them  by  means  of  the  brass  clamp ;  put  the  element  thus 
formed  in  the  solution.  Now  unite  by  a  brass  wire  the  top 
of  the  clamp  with  the  brass  post  marked  N  on  the  left  of 
the  helix.  Unite  the  platinum  with  the  brass  post  marked 
P  on  the  right  hand  of  the  helix. 

If  the  spring  does  not  at  once  vibrate,  give  it  a  slight  stroke 
with  the  finger.  If  it  still  refuses  to  vibrate,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  readjust  the  screw.  If  the  spring  vibrates,  but  irregu- 
larly or  too  slowly,  the  evil  may  easily  be  remedied  by  re-ad- 
justing the  screw. 

l^ow  connect  the  strings  attached  to  the  electrodes  with 
the  lettered  posts.  A  is  always  the  positive  pole,  and  B,  C, 
and  D  are  always  negative  relatively  to  A.  It  is  always  pos- 
sible to  distinguish  the  negative  pole  by  holding  the  eiec- 


A  Treatise  o^  Electricity.  81 

trodes  for  a  moment  in  the  two  hands ;  the  one  in  which  the 
current  is  strongest  felt  is  the  negative  pole. 

If  the  apparatus  refuses  to  go  or  if  it  stops  at  any  time 
while  in  use,  the  cause  may  be  looked  for— 

1.  In  the  screw  of  the  rheotome  or  current  breaker. — This 
may  not  be  properly  adjusted.  The  point  may  be  too  far 
from  the  spring,  or  too  closely  pressed  upon  it.  This  want 
of  proper  adjustment  of  the  screw  is  the  most  frequent 
cause  of  a  stopping  of  the  machine,  and  of  the  refusal  of 
the  spring  to  vibrate.  The  spring  may  sometimes  be  corrod- 
ed at  the  point  where  the  screw  touches  it. 

2.  In  the  connection  of  the  wires. — The  wires  that  unite 
the  zincs  and  platinum  may  not  be  properly  screwed  at  their 
point  of  connection. 

3.  In  the  battery  itself. — The  battery — that  is,  the  zinc  and 
platina,  with  the  solution  in  the  glass  jar— may  get  out  of 
order  in  two  ways.  First,  the  solution  may  lose  its  strength. 
This  difficulty  may  be  remedied  either  by  pouring  in  some 
sulphuric  acid  or  making  an  entirely  new  solution,  or  by 
simply  adding  more  water.  Secondly,  the  zincs  may  become 
so  corroded  and  incrustedas  to  become  incapable  of  generat- 
ing a  current.  When  we  have  reason  to  suspect  that  such  is 
the  case  we  should  clean  them  with  an  old  tooth-brush  or 
cloth,  or  amalgamate  them  by  first  dipping  them  in  the  acid 
solution  and  then  pouring  over  them  a  small  quantity  of 
mercury.  The  platinum  and  the  zincs  will  in  time,  by  hard 
and  long  usage,  wear  out,  and  will  need  to  be  replenished. 

4.  In  the  helix.— It  is  very  rarely  indeed  that  the  helix  of 
this  apparatus  ever  becomes  so  injured  as  to  become  incapa- 
ble of  service.  If,  after  we  have  properly  adjusted  the  screw 
and  spring,  made  sure  of  the  connections  of  the  wires,  re- 
plenished the  solution  and  cleaned  the  zincs,  the  apparatus 
persistently  refuses  to  go,  we  have  reason  to  suspect  th  a 
something  may  be  wrong  with  the  wires  that  compose  the 
helix.  If  such  be  the  case  the  evil  can  be  remedied  only  by 
the  inventor  himself,  or,  at  least,  by  some  one  practically 
familiar  with  the  construction  of  helices.  But  we  should 
try  very  patiently  and.  perseveringly  before  we  accept  the 
conclusion  that  the  helix  is  thus  out  of  order,  for  it  is  an 
accident  of  extremely  rare  occurrence. 

When  no  current  is  felt  at  the  electrodes,  although  the  ap- 
paratus acts  properly,  we  know  that  the  connection  is  bro- 
ken somewhere  in  the  insulated  conducting  wires.      Some 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 


times  the  union  of  the  wires  with  the  electrodes  is  imper- 
fect, and  occasionally  the  wire  in  some  part  is  broken.  It 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  poles  can  always  be  distin- 
guished from  each  other  by  the  fact  that  when  the  elec- 
trodes are  held  in  the  hand  the  current  is  felt  most  in  the 
negative.  Finally,  the  electrodes  themselves  may  become 
very  much  corroded,  and  may  need  cleaning  before  a  good 
current  can  be  obtained. 

To  take  care  of  the  apparatus. — When  not  in  use,  the 
element  can  be  taken  out  of  the  solution  and  rested  on  the 
top  of  the  glass  jar,  or  placed  in  another  jar  or  cup  of  water. 
If  the  element  remains  too  long  a  time  in  the  jar  an  incrus- 
tation of  salt  will  sometimes  accumulate  on  the  top  of  the 
zincs,  which  will  need  to  be  brushed  or  washed  off.  This 
salt  is  the  sulphate  of  zinc,  resulting  from  the  action  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  on  the  zinc. 

Methods  of  modifying  the  current. —  The  strength  of 
the  current  of  this  machine  may  be  modified  in  several 
ways,  as  follows: 

1.  It  may  be  modified  by  withdrawing  or  pushing  in  the 
metallic  tube  that  covers  the  helix,  or  by  moving  the  switch 
from  one  post  to  the  other. 

BEAKD  &  ROCKWELL. 


A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity. 


83 


No.  2.  Physician's  Visiting  Machine. 
No.  2  is  a  four  coil  apparatus,  producing  ten  currents  of 
electricity,  of  compact  form,  with  an  upright  stopper  bat- 
tery, constantly  ready  for  use  many  weeks  without  any  at- 
tention. The  coil-box  stands  upright  in  one  end  of  the  case 
where  it  is  hinged.  By  springs  underneath  the  hinges  that 
fasten  the  coil-box  to  the  case,  the  battery  is  connected  to 
operate  the  coils,  when  turned  down  to  a  horizontal  position, 
as  seen  in  the  figure.  If  ever  desired,  the  coil-box  can  be  de- 
tached and  connected  with  any  other  battery  by  the  two 
screw  cups  on  the  back  part.  This  machine  is  about  6  inches 
long,  Z}4  wide,  and  6  inches  deep,  and  has  a  metallic  handle 
on  the  lid  for  carrying.  It  costs  as  much,  if  not  more,  to  put 
the  qualities  of  the  ten  currents  in  a  small  machine  as  in  a 
large  one.    Price,  $27.00. 


84  A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 

A  superior  Pocket  Induction  (Faradic)  Apparatus,  having 
very  expensive  coils  so  as  to  get  the  desired  ranges  in  the 
qualities  of  currents,  in  a  very  small  space.  It  operates  by 
means  of  a  very  little  bisulphate  of  mercury,  gives  very 
strong  pov^er,  and  is  more  satisfactory  in  its  operation  than 
any  other  pocket  apparatus  made  in  any  country.  Two 
handles  and  sponge-clasps  with  conducting  cords  accompany 
each  apparatus.  Price  with  three  coils  and  six  different 
qualities  of  currents,  $20.  Price  with  four  coils  and  ten 
different  qualities  of  currents,  $24.00. 


The  American  Pocket  Battery.    Price,  $10. 

This  is  the  most  convenient  pocket  battery  in  the  market 
for  the  price,  as  it  has  a  closed  cell,  and  the  physician  can 
put  it  in  running  order  before  leaving  his  office. 


No.   1— Physicians'  Office  ELBCTRo-MEDicAii  Apparatus. 


86  A  Teeatise  ojs"  Electeicity. 

Ko.  1.  Physicians'  Office  Electro-Medical  Apparatus,  large 
size,  having  four  coils  and  ten  currents. 

Polished  walnut  case,  with  brass-bound  corners,  and 
drawer  underneath  the  helix.  Size  of  case,  10^  inches  long, 
9  wide,  and  73^  deep.  The  brass  works  are  nickel  plated. 
Price,  including  handles  and  sponge-holder,  $50.00. 

Yeneered  rosewood  case,  bound  and  ornamented  with 
German  silver.    Price  $57.00. 

Directions  for  Galyano  Cautery  Battery. 

Solution 

Is  composed  of  bi-chromate  potassa,  sulphuric  acid  and 
water.  To  two  ounces  of  bi-chromate  potassa,  dissolved  in 
15  ounces  boiling  water,  add  when  cold  6  ounces  Com- 
mercial Sulphuric  Acid. 

This  quantity  is  sufficient  to  charge  the  two  cell  appar- 
atus. 

Each  cell  contains  about  11  fluid  ounces.  This  solution 
can  be  made  in  large  quantities  and  put  away  (well  sealed) 
for  future  use. 

The  following  formula  will  make  one  gallon :— 16  ounces 
bi-chromate  potassa,  dissolved  in  Q}4,  pints  boiling. water, 
add  when  cold  1%  pints  commercial  sulphuric  acid. 

Zincs. 

The  zincs  will  occasionally  require  rc-amalgamating,  to 
protect  them  from  rapid  decomposition.  This  can  be  done 
as  follows: — Immerse  the  elements  into  the  solution  for  a 
minute  or  jtwo,  until  action  takes  place,  then  place  into  a 
saucer  or  shallow  vessel  of  glass  or  earthenware,  sufficient 
mercury  to  touch  the  lower  ends  of  zincs,  which  will  absorb 
the  mercury  and  cause  it  to  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
zincs  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  solution. 

Care  should  be  taken  not  to  allow  the  mercury  to  touch  the 
platina  plates. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electkicity. 


87 


Dr.  Kidder's  Galvano-Caustic  Batteries  are  unequaled  as 
to  their  efficiency  and  convenience  of  operation.  The  ele- 
ments are  made  movable  horizontally  in  their  relation  to  the 
fluid  of  the  cells,  so  as  to  substitute  continuously  battery 
fluid  which  has  recovered  its  allotropic  power  from  having 
been  released  from  action.  One  of  these  forms,  consisting 
only  of  two  cells,  each  S}4  inches  long,  2}4  inches  wide  and 
4}4  deep,  will  retain  a  platinum  wire  No.  19  at  a  white  heat 
constantly  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 


88 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


Case  of  Appliances. 


Containing  Yaginai,  Uterine,  Kectum,  Spatula,  (Tongue 
Eye,  Ear,  Brush,  Sponge  Clasp  and  Universal  handle,  in 
neat  Morocco  Case,  Velvet  lined.    Price,  $15.00. 


A  Treatise  o:s  Electricity. 


Holder  for  large  sponge  with  universal  handle $1  50 

«  without  handle 1  00 

Sponge-Cup  with  universal  handle 1  00 

"        without  handle 50 

Ball  Kectal  Electrode  (insulated) 1  25 

Rectal  Electrode,  nickle  plated 1  25 

Rectal  Electrode,  Insulated  with  Polished  Hard  Rubber  2  00 

Rectal  Electrode,  large,  nickel  plated 1  40 

Vaginal  Electrode,  nickel  plated 1  50 

Vaginal  Electrode,  Insulated  with  Polished  Hard  Rub- 
ber    2  50 


W  A  Treatise  on-  Electricity. 


MCINTOSH'S  BATTERIES. 


Twelve-Cell   Combined  Galvanic  and  Faradic 
Battery. 

Same  style  of  case  and  finish  as  the  above  (but  two  inches 
longer),  with  first-class  Faradic  Coil,  polished  hard-rubber 
ends  and  cover,  extra  large  cell  to  run  the  coil,  electrodes, 
and  our  new  cable  conducting  cords.  This  battery  gives  a 
galvanic  current  same  as  above  described,  and  a  Faradic 
current  of  sufficient  strength  to  treat  any  case. 

Price $40  00 


Twelve-Cel£  Galvanic  Battery. 

In  a  polished  black-walnut  case,  9  inches  long,  8  inches 
v^ride,  8  inches  high,  metal  work  all  nickel  plated,  lock  and 
handle,  sponge  electrodes,  and  cable  conducting  cords.  This 
is  a  very  convenient  visiting  battery,  as  it  weighs  only 
eleven  pounds,  and  gives  a  strong  galvanic  current. 

Price $30  00. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


91 


McIntosh  Family  Faradic  Battery. 


There  is  a  constant  demand  for  a  low  priced  Faradic 
Battery  ;  not  a  mere  toy,  such  as  are  offered  to  the  public, 
but  one  made  of  good  material,  in  a  substantial  manner  and 
that  will  give  a  smooth,  even  current,  suitable  for  family 
use.  This  has  induced  us  to  make  the  above  battery,  which 
we  believe  will  meet  this  want. 

It  is  made  on  the  same  principle  as  our  higher  priced 
Faradic  Batteries,  and  is  portable.  It  is  not  intended  to  take 
the  place  of  the  Physician's  Battery,  but  for  domestic  use. 

It  is  put  up  in  a  neat  black  walnut  case,  6^  inches  long, 
inches  high  and  5  inches  wide,  with  lock  and  handle,  and 
furnished  with  electrodes  and   conducting  cords  ;   all  the 
metal  work  is  finely  nickel  plated. 

Xo  one  can  contradict  us,  when  we  say  that  no  portable 
battery  of  the  same  quality,  is,  or  has  been  sold  at  the  low 
price  we  offer  this  one. 

Price , $10  00 

Large  Size 18  00 


92 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


A  Few  of  the  Reasons  Why  This  Instrument  is  Used 
IN  Preference  to  all  Others,  are: 


1.  It  is  an  Abdominal  and  Uterine  Supporter  combined. 

2.  It  is  simple  in  construction.  The  abdominal  support 
is  a  broad  morrocco  belt,  with  elastic  straps  to  buckle 
around  the  hips,  with  concave  front  so  shaped  as  to  hold 
up  the  abdomen.  The  uterine  support  is  a  cup  and  stem, 
made  of  hard  rubber,  and  attached  to  the  belt  Dy  elastic 
rubber  tubes. 

3.  Convenient  to  apply  and  wear.  The  uterine  support 
(cup  and  stem),  being  composed  of  light  vulcanized  rubber, 
with  a  highly  polished  surface,  has  no  joints  or  crevices 
for  secretions  to  collect.  The  cup  is  so  constructed  that 
all  secretions  from  the  womb  will  readily  pass  out.  The 
stem  is  elastic,  and  by  heating  over  a  lamp  can  be  bent  to 
any  curve  desired,  and  retain  the  curve  when  once  changed. 
It  will  not  corrode  like  those  composed  of  silver  and  other 
metals,  but  after  being  worn  for  years  will  retain  its 
original  polish. 

4.  Happy  in  its  adaptation.  The  cup  is  not  a  perfect 
circle,  but  flattened  to  fit  the  neck  of  the  uterus,  which 
has  as  definite  a  shape  as  the  hand  or  foot. 

OUR  PRICES  ARE  I 

To  Physieians.       To  Patients. 

Instrument  separate  (which  is  the  belt, 

cup,  stem  and  tubes) $6  00    310  00  each 

Abdominal  Supporters,  separate 3  00       5  00    *' 

Cup  and  stem  "  3  00        5  00    " 

Rubber  tubes  twenty-five  cents  per  pair. 

Instruments  sent  by  mail  at  our  risk,  on  receipt  of  price. 

r 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


The  McIntosh  Electric  Belt. 


This  cut  represents  a  section  of  cells  from  the  Mcintosh  Electric  Belt ;  Z,  zinc  in  the  positive  cell; 
W,  -wire  connecting  cell  and  positive  electrode  plate  P;  C,  represents  copper  lining  of  the 
negative  cell;  W,  wire  connecting  with  the  negative  electrode  N. 

This  belt  has  been  carefully  devised  by  Dr.  L.  D.  Mcintosh 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  all  the  wants  of  a  mild  galvanic 
)attery.  The  belt  consists  of  a  combination  of  cups  or 
[cells  placed  in  pockets  on  the  belt,  thus  forming  a  complete 
galvanic  battery.  Each  cell  is  composed  of  hard  rubber 
lined  with  copper,  which  metal  constitutes  the  negative 
plate.  The  cells,  being  covered  with  hard  rubber,  are  per- 
fectly insulated,  or,  in  other  words,  do  not  permit  the  electric 
current  to  pass  only  on  the  conducting  wires  from  the 
poles  of  the  battery ;  plates  of  zinc  of  the  proper  size  and 
thickness  are  wrapped  in  a  porous  material  and  placed  in 
the  cells;  a  wire  soldered  firmly  to  the  zincs  connects  to 
the  copper  of  the  cells  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  a  hinge 
motion,  thus  making  the  belt  pliable.  By  simply  dropping  a 
few  drops  of  dilute  vinegar  in  each  cell  the  electric  current 
is  generated,  and  will  continue  uninterrupted  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  power  of  the  current  is  to  great  that  it 
will  decompose  water. 

It  gives  a  strong  or  weak  current.  If  a  weak  current  is 
desired,  less  cells  should  be  included  in  the  circuit  (see  di- 
rections). The  electrodes,  or  pieces  of  metal  connected  by 
wires  with  the  cells  to  convey  the  current  to  the  body,  allow 
of  application  to  any  part;  the  current  can  be  used  locally,  or 
the  whole  system  can  be  brought  under  its  inlluence.  It  is 
light  and  no  discomfort  whatever  to  the  wearer. 

Price ^10  00 


94 


A  Treatise  oi^  Electkicity 


Faradio  Bath  Apparatus. 

Our  Faradic  Bath  Apparatus  is  very  complete  in  its  arrange- 
ment. The  Faradic  coil  is  nearly  twelve  inches  long  and 
three  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter  (with  polished  hard 
rubber  ends  and  cover),  placed  on  the  shelf  of  a  hard-rubber 
bracket.  The  vibrator,  magnet  and  binding  posts  are  placed 
on  the  shelf  in  front  of  the  coil.  Twelve  switches  are  placed 
on  the  perpendicular  plate  of  the  bracket  in  circular  form. 
Each  switch  has  a  positive  and  negative  coonection  with 
its  electrode  in  the  bath  tub.  By  this  arrangement  they  can 
be  used  as  pole  changers.  This  bracket  can  be  placed  on  a 
table  or  wall  in  convenient  proximity  to  the  bath  tub,  and  is 
the  most  convenient  arrangement  ever  designed.  It  is  very 
ornamental.    The  coil,  with  polished  hard-rubber  ends  and 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  95^ 

cover,  produces  a  fine  contrast  with  the  nicliel-plated  metal 
of  the  vibrator,  binding  posts  and  switches.  The  primary 
and  secondary  wires  in  the  coil  are  proportioned  in  length 
and  size,  so  as  to  produce  a  quantity  current  very  powerful 
in  its  character.  It  penetrates  the  innermost  tissues  of  the 
body,  and  is  free  from  the  sharp,  stinging  character  to  be 
met  with  in  many  kinds  of  bath  apparatus,  having  coils  of 
great  intensity  without  regard  to  quantity.  The  position  of 
the  vibrator  and  binding  posts  in  front  of  the  coils  and 
switches  just  above  it,  are  very  convenient  to  the  hand  of 
the  operator.  The  shield  is  nickel-plated  and  graduated.  The 
current  increases  in  strength  as  it  is  withdrawn  from  the 
coil,  and,  bv  its  intelligent  use,  any  strength  of  current  can 
be  obtained,  from  one  scarcely  perceptible,  to  one  so  powerful 
that  the  strongest  person  can  with  difficulty  endure  it. 

The  switches  are  arranged  in  circular  form.  The  one  at 
the  top  marked  H,  connects  with  the  head  electrode  in  the 
tub.  The  one  marked  F,  with  the  foot  electrode.  Those  on 
the  right  side,  with  electrodes  in  the  tub  on  the  right  side 
Those  on  the  left,  with  the  electrodes  in  the  tub  on  the  left 
side,  as  follows :  C,  chest;  S,  stomach;  B,  bowels;  H,  hips 
and  K,  knees. 

By  means  of  these  sMtches,  the  current  can  be  directed 
through  the  patient  in  any  direction,  and  its  polarity 
changed  at  will  in  an  instant.  The  dry  current  can  be  taken 
from  the  binding  posts  by  means  of  conducting  cords  and 
handles,  and  applied  the  same  as  from  an  ordinary  Faradic 
coil. 

We  furnish  with  our  bath  apparatus  a  large,  powerful  grav- 
ity-cell 18x18  inches,  and  8  inches  deep.  This  cell  will  run 
for  months  with  very  little  attention.  The  elements  remain 
in  the  fluid  and^there  is  no  action  on  them  when  the  battery 
switch  is  turned  off.  The  tub  electrodes  are  highly  finished 
and  nickel-plated.  The  tub  is  usually  made  six  feet  four 
inches  long,  four  feet  six  inches  on  the  bottom,  sixteen 
inches  wide  at  the  foot,  and  twenty-one  inches  at  the  head, 
with  a  slight  taper  toward  the  bottom.  It  is  usually  made 
of  wood,  as  it  is  cheaper  and  just  as  good.  If  desired,  we 
can  furnish  tubs  made  of  soapstone  or  porcelain. 

We  can  vary  this  apparatus  to  meet  the  wishes  of  any  cus- 
tomer at  corresponding  rates.  Price,  complete  as  above 
described,  $250  00. 


96 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


Gal VANO-F ARABIC  Manufacturing  Co. 
Description.— rig.,  "E,"  Electrodes;  "  H,"  Hinge-rod;  "C/ 
Coil;  "D,"  Cylinder;  ''N'K,"  Nuts  holding  rubber  cap  or 
Hydrostat  A  tight  on  cell;  "P,"  Platina  Point  to  regulate 
vibration  of  the  vibrator ;  "  V,"  Vibrator ;  "A,"  Hydrostat, 
or  Portable  attachment;  "B,"  Nut  on  Hinge-rod  H;  "X," 
Current  Changer.    Price,  $20.00. 

Battery  Fluid.— To  three  pints 
of  cold  water  add  five  fluid  ounces 
of  commercial  sulphuric  acid,  and 
when  this  becomes  perfectly  cool 
add  thereto  six  ounces  of  finely  pul- 
verized bi-chromate  of  potassa.  Mix 
well. 

To  Prepare  Machine  for  Ope- 
RATiON.-Remove  small  pin  from  end 
,of  box  which  secures  the  platform; 
I  lift  platform  out  of  position  by 
lifting  out  the  coil;  unscrew  the 
jUuts,  '*NN,"  and  raise  elements 
PBicis,  810.00. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  97 

which  are  attached  to  hard  rubber  cap  on  neck  of  cell;  take 
out  the  cell,  and  fill  the  same  with  ten  fluid  ounces,  or 
two-thirds  of  large  or  lower  part,  with  battery  fluid;  replace 
all  as  before. 

To  Put  into  Operation.— Raise  the  end  of  hinged  rod, 
and  with  it  lower  the  zinc-plate  attached  to  it  down  into  the 
Battery  Fluid.  A  slight  jar  of  the  box  will  start  the 
machine  into  action. 

The  Primary  Current  (mild)  is  obtained  by  fastening 
the  Tips  at  the  ends  of  the  cords  which  are  attached  to  the 
handles  with  sponges,  into  binding  posts  Nos.  1  and  2  on 
platform,  and  by  drawing  out,  or  to  the  right,  the  Sliding 
Cylinder,  the  strength  of  the  current  is  increased. 

The  Secondary  Current  (strong)  is  obtained  by  fas- 
tening the  Tips  at  the  ends  of  the  Cords  which  are  attached 
to  the  handles  with  sponges  into  binding  posts  Kos.  2  and 
3  on  platform.  The  strength  of  the  current  is  increased  by 
drawing  out  the  cylinder  same  as  in  primary. 

I  The  combined  Primary  and  Secondary  Current  is  obtained 
by  fastening  the  Tips  at  the  ends  of  the  Cords  which  are 
attached  to  the  handles  with  sponges,  into  binding  posts 
Kos.  1  and  3  on  platform.  The  strength  of  the  currents  is 
increased  by  drawing  out  the  cylinder  same  as  in  primary. 
To  Attach  a  Zinc  Plate.— Remove  the  elements  from 
the  cell;  then  remove  the  nut  of  the  hinge-jointed  rod  "B," 
draw  the  rod  down  and  out,  unscrew  the  zinc  from  the  same, 
and  put  on  a  new  one. 

When  the  currents  and  vibrations  seem  weak,  it  shows 
that  either  fresh  fluid  or  a  new  zinc  is  needed.  The  zinc 
being  good,  the  fluid  fresh,  and  the  vibrator  in  motion, 
show  that  the  conductors  are  in  fault.  Test:  place  one 
finger  on  the  right-hand  and  one  on  the  left-hand  post;  if 
you  find  the  current  passing,  the  instrument  is  perfect. 

To  Regulate  the  Vibrations.— Care  should  be  taken 
not  to  turn  the  platina  point  screw  *'  P  "  so  tight  against 
the  disk  on  "  Y  "  that  it  will  press  or  impinge  closely  against 
the  magnet  or  end  of  coil ;  turn  screw  backward  until  the 
vibrations  are  regular. 

Sometimes,  in  transportation,  the  adjustment  of  the 
machines  may  be  disarranged,  in  which  case  readjustment 
is  necessary.  This  is  best  done  (and  whenever  adjustment 
is  needed)  as  follows: 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


Move  the  platina  point  screw  backward  or  forward  until 
the  electric  spark  is  evolved  freely  on  the  movable  disk 
attached  to  vibrator,  which  causes  the  hammer  to  vibrate 
rapidly. 

The  disk  against  which  the  platina  point  impinges,  where 
the  electric  spark  is  evolved,  may,  in  time,  become  oxidized, 
causing  the  shock  to  be  irregularly  generated.  This  can  be 
instantly  remedied,  as  our  disk,  being  movable,  may  be 
turur-d  a  very  little  round  on  its  pivot,  whereby  a  fresh 
surface  of  its  periphery  will  be  presented  to  the  platina 
point. 

Do  not  wind  up  the  conducting  cords  unless  when  neces- 
sary to  carry  them  about.  When  not  in  use  they  should  be 
hung  up ;  continued  winding  injures  and  breaks  the  wire. 

The  instument  should  be  kept  dry  and  clean.  The  zinc- 
plate  should  be  drawn  out  of  the  fluid  immediately  after 
using.  Never  fill  the  cell  so  full  that  the  fluid  will  touch 
the  zinc  when  it  is  raised  by  the  hinged  rod. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  99 


TREATING   CHAIR. 

For  the  comfort  of  the  patient  the  treating  chair 
should  be  made  of  springs  and  hair,  and  easily  adjusted. 
We  use  an  old-style  invalid  chair,  said  to  be  manufac- 
tured in  Boston,  but  by  whom  we  do  not  know.  It  is 
of  hair  cloth,  provided  with  springs,  and  is  without 
screws  or  any  complicated  machinery:  cost,  $38.  The 
weight  of  the  patient  holds  the  chair  down.  When  I 
wish  to  change  the  plates  I  lift  the  back  up  Avith  a 
slight  effort,  or  if  the  patient  raises  up  the  chair  comes 
up  with  ease.  There  is  a  foot-board  to  keep  them  from 
slipping  down,  and  hot  soap-stone  can  be  conveniently 
applied  to  the  feet  while  under  treatment.  The  height 
is  such  that  the  electrician  can  give  the  treatment  with- 
out stooping,  making  it  more  convenient  for  speculum 
examinations.  The  wrappings  can  be  kept  around 
patients  without  any  trouble.  Marks'  surgical  chair  is 
the  best  one  that  I  know  of,  after  the  common  invalid 
chair,  but  it  is  complicated.  A  lounge  or  bed,  or  a 
high-backed  cane-seated  chair  can  be  used,  but  the 
above  is  better. 

ELECTRIC  OR  MAGNETIC  PILLS. 

I  have  used  these  pills  for  years  in  connection  with 
my  treatment.  They  act  in  harmony  with  electricity. 
They  are  perfectly  assimilated  and  cause  no  pain,  and 
their  action  is  not  too  strong.  They  are  a  vegetable 
pill,  with  no  blue  mass  or  mineral  substance  in  their 
composition.  A  box  of  these  pills  with  a  battery  will 
cure  many  complicated  diseases,  and  can  be  used  by  a 
non-professional  if  the  currents  are  used  as  directed,  and 
the  pills  taken  with  third  treatment,  as  directed  in  chap- 
ter on  general  treatment.     Price  per  box,  25  cts. 


100  A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity. 


GLOSSARY. 

The  substance  decomposed  by  the  electricity  is  called 
the  Electrolyte. 

The  terminations  of  the  metallic  conductors  through 
which  the  current  passes  in  and  out,  are  called  Elec- 
trodes (or  roads  of  electricity).  That  through  which 
the  electricity  passes  into  the  electrolyte  is  termed  the 
Anode  (road  up),  and  that  through  which  the  current 
passes  out,  the  Cathode  (road  down).  The  electrolyte 
is  always  decomposed  into  two  parts,  one  of  which 
appears  at  the  anode  and  the  other  at  the  cathode. 

In  the  experiment  of  decomposing  water,  the  water 
would  be  called  the  electrolyte ;  the  decomposition  of  the 
water,  electrolysis;  the  pieces  of  platinum  connected 
with  the  battery,  electrodes;  the  one  connected  with  the 
positive  pole,  the  anode;  that  connected  with  the  nega- 
tive pole,  the  cathode.  The  oxygen  which  appears  at 
the  anode,  the  anoin;  and  the  hydrogen  which  appears 
at  the  cathode,  the  cation. 

Every  chemical  compound  which  is  a  conductor  of 
electricity  is  an  electrolyte  when  in  a  liquid  state. 

Constant  Battery.  One  capable  of  giving  a  contiuous 
current  with  unvarying  constancy. 

Continuous  Current.  Term  applied  to  the  galvanic 
current  in  opposition  to  the  electro-magnetic. 

Current  Selector.  A  contrivance  for  bringing  any 
desired  number  of  elements  into  the  circuit. 

Commutator.  An  arrangement  for  reversing  the  cur- 
rent. 

Electrode.  An  instrument  for  the  application  of  elec- 
tricity. 

Electrometer.  An  instrument  by  which  the  force  of 
an  electric  current  is  measured. 

Element.     Couple,  pair  or  cell. 

Electrolysis.    Electro-chemical  decomposition. 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  101 

Electroscope.     Same  as  Galvanoscope. 

Faradic  Current.  The  induced  current.  The  term 
is  applied  both  to  the  electro-magnetic  and  magneto- 
electric  currents,  since  they  were  both  discovered  by 
Faraday.  Called  also  secondary,  interrupted,  induced, 
inductive,  to  and  fro,  indirect,  electro-magnetic  and 
magneto-electric.  The  term  Faradic  is  more  univers- 
ally used. 

Faradization.     The  use  of  the  Faradic  current. 

Galvanoscope  (Galvanometer).  An  instrument  by 
which  we  detect  small  quantities  of  electricity  and  dis- 
tinguish between  negative  and  positive. 

Hydrostat.  An  arrangement  to  prevent  accidental 
escape  of  battery  fluid  from  the  cells. 

Interrupted  Current,  Broken,  intermitted.  The  Far- 
adic is  necessarily  interrupted  by  the  apparatus  that 
generates;  it  the  galvanic  may  be  continuous  or  inter- 
rupted. 

Insulator.    A  poor  conductor  of  electricity. 

Insulated.  l^laced  on  non-conducting  supports,  or 
covered  with  non-conducting  substances. 

Labile  Current.  An  application  in  which  one  or  both 
the  electrodes  are  moved  or  glided  over  the  surface. 

Magnets.  Substances  that  have  the  property  of  at- 
tracting iron. 

Primary  or  Inducing  Current,  The  current  that 
passes  through  the  inner  coil  of  wire  in  a  helix,  and 
that  induces  a  current  on  the  coil  that  surrounds  it. 
Used  erroneously  as  synonymous  with  galvanic  or  con- 
stant current. 

Rheotome.     A  current  breaker. 

Rheotrope.     Current  reverser. 

Secondary  Current.  That  which  is  supplied  by  the 
outer  coil  of  the  electro-magnetic  machine. 

Static  Electricity.     Electricity  generated  by  friction. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  NEW  THEORY  OF  THE  SOURCE  OF  CIRCULATION"  OF  BLOOD 
CURRENTS. 

From  the  (Washington)  National  Republican. 

We  propose  to  present  this  subject  as  compactly  as 
possible,  and  consequently  we  shall  speak  only  of  those 
facts  that  are  necessary  for  a  true  appreciation  of  this 
new  science,  and  only  of  that  which  has  a  practical 
bearing  upon  this  subject.  Does  the  heart  cause  the 
circulation  of  the  blood  ?  or  the  electric  and  magnetic 
forces  of  the  body?  Every  standard  physiology  and 
anatomy  used  in  our  medical  colleges  teaches  Harvey's 
theory  of  the  circulation.  He  assumed  that  the  heart 
circulates  the  blood  upon  the  hydraulic  or  vacuum  prin- 
ciple, and  the  heart,  to  accomplish  this,  exerts  a  force  of 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  pounds.  Grrant  the 
heart  to  be  the  strongest  muscle  in  the  body,  who  can 
believe  its  motive  power  to  be  equal  to  forty  tons  ?  We 
claim  the  heart  receives  its  motive  power  from  the  brain 
and  other  nerve  centers,  and  that  that  power  is  electro- 
magnetism.  We  have  proven  to  our  satisfaction  that 
the  whole  human  body  is  a  battery  controlled  by  the 
brain.  This  battery  generates  all  the  three  kinds  of 
electricity — static  or  frictional,  by  the  physical  motion 
of  the  body;  the  galvanic  by  the  acids  and  alkalies  as 
generated  from  the  serous  or  mucous  surfaces.  The 
voltaic  pile  is  the  brain,  with  its  gray  and  white  matter, 
supplying  heat  from  the  cerebellum  to  the  circumfer- 
ence of  the  cerebrum. 

102 


A  Treatise  oj^  Electriciy.  103 

This  animal  electricity  is  controlled  by  the  mind, 
through  the  spinal  cord  or  main  telegraph  wire,  and 
its  thousands  of  branches  of  motor  nerves,  nerves  of 
sensation  and  nerves  of  special  sense.  Examining, 
microscopically,  the  gray  matter,  we  find  it  to  be  com- 
posed of  cells,  while  the  white  matter  consists  of  fibres. 
The  functions  of  the  two  are  entirely  different;  the 
gray  matter  is  the  generator  of  nerve  force,  while  the 
white  is  only  the  conductor  by  which  the  force  is  dis- 
tributed to  the  nerves,  and  from  thence  to  all  the  glands 
and  organs  of  the  body.  We  have  no  evidence  that  the 
mind  can  exist  without  the  nervous  system,  or  that  the 
heart  can  perform  its  functions  without  the  same.  The 
system  has  two  distinct  circulating  systems ;  the  positive 
or  arterial,  which  is  ever  flowing  from  the  heart  toward 
the  extremities;  the  second  is  the  venous  or  negative, 
which  is  ever  flowing  from  the  extremities  toward  the 
heart.  These  views  of  the  circulation  are  strengthened 
when  we  know  that  the  nerves  of  involuntary  motion 
accompany  the  arteries  and  do  not  the  veins.  The  ar- 
terial blood  is  carried  to  the  capillaries  and  the  nerves 
attending  them  give  the  motive  power  to  build  tissue 
and  to  repair  waste  places,  while  the  veins  gather  up  the 
waste  and  impurities  and  carry  the  venous  blood 
through  the  heart  to  the  lungs. 

And,  further,  this  theory  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  the  blood  contains  a  certain  portion  of  iron,  and 
iron  becomes  a  magnet  only  by  induction,  and  loses  its 
magnetic  power  the  moment  the  electric  current  passes 
from  it.  Hence  the  blood,  through  the  agency  of  the 
iron  it  contains,  assumes  a  positive  state  at  the  instant 
it  receives  the  electric  charge  from  the  iron  at  the  lungs. 
It  can  then  pass  into  the  arteries  and  by  induction  throw 
off  its  electricity  into  the  nerves,  and  then  the  blood 
will  again  assume  a  negative  state  as  it  enters  the  veins. 
As  the  venous  blood  has  no  electricity  to  throw  off,  it  of 


104  A  Treatise  oit  Electricity. 

course  needs  no  attendant  nerves  to  receive  the  charge. 
The  blood  is  now  negative,  and,  as  the  lungs  by  inspira- 
tion are  kept  in  a  positive  state,  the  venous  blood  re- 
turns through  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart  to  the  lungs. 
We  have  proven  these  assertions  by  a  long  and  practical 
study;  not  by  reading  alone  but  by  scientific  investiga- 
tion of  experiments  from  eanectrical  standpoint.  And 
not  only  as  to  how  the  blood  circulates  but  how  to  re- 
instate imperfect  circulation.  That  this  mode  of  treat- 
ment is  effectual  hundreds  of  patients  can  testify  who 
by  overworking  the  brain  have  exhausted  the  electro- 
magnetic forces,  and  who  by  calling  an  excessive  amount 
of  blood  to  the  brain  caused  sleeplessness  and  cold  hands 
and  feet.  We,  by  applying  the  tonic  current  of  electricity, 
aroused  the  electro-magnetic  forces  and  changed  the  cur- 
rent of  the  blood  to  the  extremities  and  relieved  the  brain, 
by  this  means  establishing  the  circulation;  and  this  can 
be  accomplished  in  three  days,  and  often  twenty  min- 
utes. Treating  the  ganglionic  center  of  the  fifth  pair 
of  nerves  will  produce  sleep  when  the  patient  has  been 
without  sleep  for  weeks.  From  the  above  facts  we  must 
conclude  that  the  same  principle  that  causes  the  nega- 
tive and  positive  forces  to  rush  together  causes  the  cir- 
culation :  that  is,  electrically  the  blood  circulates,  and 
electrically  it  recedes  and  returns  to  the  lungs  through 
the  two  ventricles  of  the  heart.  The  heart  does  not  cir- 
culate the  blood  but  is  the  regulator  of  this  ever-flowing 

stream. 

De.  S.  E.  Morrill. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DISEASES   OF   CHILDREN". 

One  of  the  greatest  wants  of  the  age  is  health,  a 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body.  Many  parents  have 
brought  into  the  world  feeble  children,  because  the 
laws  of  life  were  not  understood.  Many  have  con- 
signed their  loved  ones  to  an  early  grave  through  ig- 
norance of  the  laws  that  govern  the  true  development 
of  a  healthy  child. 

It  is  of  essential  importance  to  know  that  pure  air, 
cleanliness,  suitable  clothes,  and  natural  food  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  health  of  children.  It  is  a  law  of  na- 
ture that  should  be  better  understood,  that  marriage  of 
like  temperaments  should  never  be  consummated,  for 
healthy  children  can  never  be  developed  from  such  par- 
ents; neither  can  they  from  incompatibility  in  ages. 

More  than  half  of  the  diseases  children  suffer  from 
are  caused  by  injudicious  treatment  received  at  the 
hands  of  fathers  and  mothers.  Society  as  it  is  to-day 
furnishes  instances  of  grievous  wrongs  done  children 
by  their  parents.  That  large  quantities  of  unwholesome 
food  eaten  at  irregular  hours  cause  unnatural  appetites 
and  impair  digestion,  cannot  be  denied.  If  death  comes 
to  the  household  and  snatches  a  loved  one,  the  thought 
never  occurs  to  them  that  they,  in  their  ignorance,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  disease,  by  destroying  the  diges- 
tive organs,  by  giving  food  only  fit  for  adults.  Mother's 
milk  is  the  best  food,  but  this  is  not  all  the  require- 
ments necessary  to  mature  healthy  children.  The 
mother  must  regulate  her  diet  to  the  wants  of  her  chil- 

105 


106  A  Treatise  o:s  Electricity. 

•dren,  and  moderate  exercise,  fresh  air  and  a  cheerful 
temper  are  necessary.  Children  have  been  thrown  into 
convulsions  by  nursing  immediately  after  the  mother 
had  been  frightened  or  had  been  in  a  great  passion. 

The  food  after  a  child  has  been  weaned  should  be  as 
much  like  the  mother's  milk  as  possible.  Oat  meal  pro- 
duces muscle,  digests  with  ease,  and  children  will  eat  it, 
as  a  rule,  with  relish  if  their  appetites  have  not  been  per- 
Terted  by  improper  food.  Do  not  give  potatoes  or  meat 
or  anything  considered  indigestible;  keep  the  children 
away  from  the  table  until  over  two  years  of  age,  and 
the  prevailing  infantile  diseases  will  grow  "beautifully 
le^s."  The  first  milk  from  the  breast  is  the  only  physic 
that  is  necessary  for  infants.  Never  put  a  spoon  in 
their  mouths.  Children  who  are  fed  on  milk  alone  and 
not  on  "spoon  victuals"  will  cut  their  teeth  without 
•any  difficulty.  Should  it  be  necessary  to  feed  anything, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case,  pure,  new  cow's  milk  will  be 
better  than  any  of  the  prepared  food  found  in  the 
stores.  Milk  is  the  birth-right  of  the  child.  Nature 
lias  established  this  fact,  and  nothing  else  can  fill  the 
requirements.  Under  the  prevailing  mode  of  feeding, 
dressing  and  dosing  children,  it  is  a  wonder  one  child 
is  left,  so  often  are  the  laws  of  health  disregarded.  The 
use  of  powder  is  another  serious  detriment  to  the 
child,  as  it  closes  the  pores  of  the  skin.  Pure  water 
and  drying  thoroughly  is  all-sufficient. 

When,  however,  children  are  sick  we  hope  every 
mother  will  use  electricity  to  restore  them  to  health. 
Mothers,  make  this  a  part  of  your  education.  We  hope 
to  have  machines  with  instructions  so  plain  that  they 
can  be  adapted  to  children  from  birth,  and  believe  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  every  family  will  believe 
a  battery  is  as  necessary  as  a  cook  stove.  I  treat  in- 
fants for  all  diseases,  and  know  from  a  positive  knowl- 
edge, that  it  is  less  harmful  than  homeopathic  medicine 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  107 

because  it  arouses  the  natural  .and  normal  condition 
necessary  to  perfect  health. 

Do  not  go  to  the  extreme  in  the  dress  of  a  child. 
It  should  be  loose  and  warm.  Do  not  roll  them  in  a 
blanket,  excluding  all  fresh  air,  for  they  need  it  as  much 
as  an  adult,  and  by  covering  them  head  and  feet  the 
same  atmosphere  is  breathed  over  and  over.  Everyone 
knows  this  is  not  healthy ;  it  produces  colic  and  many 
other  derangements.  Have  fresh  air  in  the  sleeping 
rooms.  Cover  warm  but  let  the  air  be  pure.  Flannel 
by  its  protecting  power  is  the  best  adapted  to  children 
for  covering  or  clothing.  It  is  also  a  non-conductor  of 
the  electrical  forces.  When  the  body  is  bedewed  with 
perspiration  it  prevents  the  rapid  escape  of  warmth 
and  absorbs  the  moisture,  which  linen  or  cotton  does 
not  do. 

Sleep  is  necessary  for  the  healthy  development  of 
children,  and  this  physical  comfort  must  be  secured  by 
attention  to  the  proper  diet,  warmth,  cleanliness  and 
pure  air.  An  infant  should  never  be  kept  awake  when 
fatigued,  under  the  impression  that  it  will  rest  better 
at  night.  Over-fatigue  produces  general  irritability  and 
restlessness.  Children  should  be  fed  at  stated  intervals 
and  should  sleep  at  regular  hours.  Never  lift  them 
by  one  arm,  or  let  them  receive  severe  falls  on  the  head, 
as  it  produces  concussion  of  the  brain  and  may  cause 
death. 

In  the  management  of  children  there  must  be  an 
easy,  steady,  firm  treatment,  accompanied  by  calm 
judgment,  yet  gentle  and  persevering  government,  which 
will  at  all  times  insure  obedience.  Never  frighten  them 
by  shutting  them  in  a  dark  room  or  closet.  A 
child's  mind  should  be  impressed  with  truth,  honesty, 
fidelity  and  benevolence.  They  are  close  observers  and 
care  should  be  taken  that  they  never  hear  equivoca- 
tions from  their  parents  or  teachers.     Things   that   are 


108  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

often  considered  of  little  importance,  are  sometimes 
treasured  up  by  children.  So  be  watchful,  ever  on 
the  lookout  for  your  children's  welfare.  Punish  their 
faults  with  firmness  and  good  judgment,  but  never  in 
anger.  If  possible  keep  them  from  forming  bad  habits, 
and  especially  keep  your  boy  from  the  use  of  tobacco, 
as  it  is  the  principal  foundation  of  the  evil  of  drunken- 
ness. 

The  responsibility  of  a  mother  is  great;  how  few  feel 
or  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  soul  that  she  has  created 
through  her  own  inherent  power  is  to  live  forever?  She 
must  expect  to  be  accountable  for  the  future  develop- 
ment of  that  child,  both  physically  and  mentally.  How 
necessary  it  is  to  look  to  the  healthy  development  of 
your  daughters,  who  are  to  be  the  mothers  of  the  future 
generation!  Why  is  it  that  so  many  who  began  life 
with  healthy  bodies,  are  now  hollow-chested,  stoop 
shouldered,  sallow  and  broken  down,  when  they  should 
be  in  their  prime?  How  few  have  that  vigor,  that  full- 
ness of  life,  that  buoyant  cheertulness  that  makes  life  a 
luxury?  Notice  your  little  girl,  fresh  from  her  bath, 
cheeks  that  ^^vie  with  the  rose,  and  eyes  that  sparkle  like 
brilliants."  Every  step  is  a  spring,  she  laughs  and 
shouts,  and  the  dear  little  face  beams  with  smiles  at  a 
pleasant  word  from  ''mamma."  Her  plain  breakfast  of 
bread  and  milk  is  swallowed  with  unmistakable  delight, 
''  betause  it  was  so  dood."  All  day  she  runs  and  plays, 
happy  as  an  angel,  and  when  at  night  the  little  head 
nestles  down  on  the  pillow  sleep  comes  without  effort 
and  is  undisturbed  by  dreams.  She  is  a  joy,  a  sunbeam 
and  music  for  the  household.  Is  it  not  glorious  to  see 
such  a  picture  of  health,  and  thank  God  that  He  has 
endowed  that  child  with  such  perfect  health?  But, 
alas,  look  forward  twenty  years,  and  our  joy  will  be 
turned  into  sadness  by  the  contrast.  See  her  now  a 
grown  woman,  married  and  in  a  house  of  her  own.    She 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  109 

is  languid  and  dull  and  full  of  aches  and  pains,  requiring 
stimulants  to  brace  up  her  nerves.  She  has  no  store  of 
vitality  to  resist  the  wear  and  tear  of  life.  We  are 
ready  to  ask.  Why  is  it  ?  How  did  we  lose  this  priceless 
blessing? 

It  is  simply  because  only  in  our  early  years  that 
health  is  made  a  prominent  object.  In  early  years  our 
children  are  given  simple  food  and  are  bathed  properly. 
Their  bodies  are  objects  of  attention.  They  are  left  to 
play  in  the  air  and  sunshine,  and  grow  and  develop 
like  a  healthy  plant.  An  their  education  begins,  their 
bodies  become  a  secondary  consideration,  and  are  left  to 
take  care  of  themselves,  while  the  mind  goes  through 
the  "cramming"  process.  Children  sit  six  hours  a  day 
in  school,  breathing  the  exhalations  from  each  other's 
lungs  —  as  fresh  air  in  a  school  room  is  out  of  the 
question — with  brain  and  nerves  strained  and  every 
►movement  of  the  muscles  suppressed.  Up  to  this  time 
they  have  lived  in  the  open  air,  and  now  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  are  deemed  sufficient  for  exercise,  and  too  often 
they  are  sent  home  with  books  to  occupy  the  rest  of 
their  time.  This  treatment  is  simply  barbarous,  and  is 
a  living  death  to  a  high  spirited,  intellectual  child.  The 
physical  training  should  be  of  as  much  consideration  as 
the  mental,  and  every  child  should  be  instructed  in  re- 
gard to  the  laws  of  health.  When  this  is  done  a  crooked 
spine  and  a  sallow  complexion  will  be  an  exception, 
and  men  and  women  will  have  bodies  that  will  honor 
God  their  maker.  "  The  day  has  gone,  and  thank  God 
for  it,  when  we  can  attribute  death  from  violated  physi- 
cal laws,  to  the  will  of  Providence.  He  never  ivilled 
that  our  daughters  should  be  cut  down  with  consump- 
tioQ  and  leave  us  desolate  and  heartbroken.  He  never 
willed  the  darling  babe  should  be  cut  off  before  its  first 
year,  leaving  its  devoted  parents  to  weep  in  sadness.' 


110  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


APHTHA   OR    THRUSH. 

Thrush,  or  canker  is  the  term  applied  to  a  disease  of 
infants,  characterized  by  the  mouth  and  tongue  being 
covered  with  white  blisters.  It  often  runs  in  families, 
and  is  a  disease  of  debility.  Its  cause  is  often  an  acid 
reaction  of  the  milk,  and  runs  the  whole  length  of  the 
digestive  track.  General  treatment  by  electricity,  and 
perhaps  a  change  of  milk  will  control  this  disease.  Hy- 
drastus  triturated  with  sugar  of  milk  is  of  benefit. 

CONSTIPATIOl^. 

Very  young  infants  are  sometimes  troubled  with  con- 
stipation. There  is  probably  an  inactive  condition  of 
the  bowels  and  liver.  Grive  treatment  in  the  rectum, 
the  same  as  for  adults,  in  connection  with  general  treat- 
ment. 

DYSENTERY     (CollUis). 

Here  we  have  inflammation  of  the  colon  or  large  in- 
testine. Treat  by  introducing  the  electrode  into  the 
rectum,  with  the  plate  attached  to  the  negative  current 
over  the  bowels.  The  spine  must  be  treated  in  all  these 
cases. 

CHOLERA  INFANTUM. 

This  disease  will  not  prove  fatal  if  the  child  has  elec- 
trical treatment  in  the  early  stages.  The  diet  should  be 
changed,  as  the  trouble  is  often  caused  by  the  cow's  milk 
being  overheated ;  use  Swiss  Condensed  milk  and  treat 
with  mild  i-emedies.  I  have  saved  many  children  that  I 
believe  would  have  died  if  they  had  not  been  vitalized 
with  electricity.  Many  children  die  of  this  disease  for 
the  reason  that  it  is, difficult  to  diagnose  correctly. 
Brain  complications  often  exist,  but  are  overlooked 
because  the  child  is  too  young  to  give  the  symptoms 
when  diagnosing. 


A  Tkeatise  on-  Electricity.  Ill 

DIARRHCEA. 

Diarrhoea  may  appear  without  fever.  When  pain  is- 
present  it  is  termed  inflammatory  diarrhoea.  The  cause 
should  be  ascertained,  and  if  the  food  is  at  fault  it 
should  be  changed.  Then  give  electrical  treatment,, 
paymg  special  attention  to  the  liver.  If  an  action  of 
the  liver  can  be  brought  about  the  fresh  bile  will 
control  the  diarrhoea  in  both  children  and  adults. 

II^DIGESTIOiq-, 

Sour  stomach,  vomiting,  colic.  These  diseases  in 
children  bear  a  strong  similarity  to  the  same  in  adults, 
and  m  both  cases  the  cause  is  overfeeding,  until  the  stom- 
ach is  too  weak  to  digest  food.  Mothers  should  be  very 
careful  of  a  child  that  is  subject  to  colic.  Slie  should  not 
feed  it  oftener  than  every  three  hours,  and  should  be 
regular  and  methodical  in  all  habits  of  herself  and  child. 
Electricity  if  given  for  six  or  eight  treatments,  one- 
each  day,  will  arouse  the  nerves  to  assimilate  the  food 
so  that  it  will  not  sour  and  cause  colic. 

CONGESTION-  OF  THE  LUNGS  IN"  IN^FAN-TS. 

I  was  called  in  a  case  of  congestion  of  the  lungs  of  a 
child  only  nine  weeks  old,  but  past  nursing.  It  could 
scarcely  get  its  breath.  I  immediately  applied  the  cur- 
rents, one  on  the  cervical  nerves  at  the  back  of  the  neck, 
reaching  between  the  shoulders,  and  the  other  over  a 
heavy  napkin  covering  the  lungs,  liver  and  stomach. 
When  the  current  had  been  running  about  twenty  min- 
utes, it  vomited  nearly  half  a  teacupful  of  phlegm  and 
seemed  so  much  easier  that  I  told  the  mother  to  nurse  it, 
and  it  fed  readily.  After  keeping  the  current  on  forty 
minutes  altogether,  the  child  seemed  nearly  well.  They 
bathed  and  dressed  it.  I  left  some  homeopathic  reme- 
dies, and  when  I  called  the  next  morning  the  child  was. 
well. 


112  A  Treatise  oif  Electricity. 

BRONCHITIS  AND  PNEUMONIA 

Should  be  treated  the  same  as  for  adults.  If  much  sore- 
ness is  present  lay  a  large  cloth  between  the  lungs  and 
plate,  so  that  the  current  will  not  be  painful.  I  have  re- 
lieved cases  of  pneumonia  in  a  few  minutes. 

FALSE  CROUP  OR  ASTHMA. 

This  difficulty  consists  of  spasms  of  the  glottis,  which 
impede  respiration.  The  attacks  are  sudden  and  result 
from  a  partial  or  total  obstruction  in  the  windpipe 
against  the  admission  of  air.  The  child  struggles  for 
breath,  the  respiration. is  hurried  and  the  countenance 
bluish  or  livid.  This  is  often  mistaken  for  membranous 
croup.  If  not  relieved  immediately  death  is  certain.  I 
have  never  treated  this  disease  with  electricity,  but  am 
certain  if  the  current  is  applied  around  the  throat  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  contract  the  epiglottis,  the  cure 
would  be  effectual  and  sure. 

CROUP  OR  TRACHEALIS. 

Croup  is  an  inflammatory  affection  of  the  mucous 
membrane,  in  the  early  stage  of  the  larnyx  and  subse- 
quently of  the  trachea.  Inflammatory  or  membranous 
croup  commences  with  hoarseness,  accompanied  with  a 
hoarse  cough.  In  this  disease  electricity  applied  around 
the  throat  will  cure  in  every  instance,  especially  if  used 
in  connection  with  homeopathic  doses  of  Aconite, 
Spongia  and  Hepar  sulphur.  Apply  the  positive  cur- 
rent to. the  back  of  the  neck,  and  the  negative  in  front 
in  such  a  way  that  the  plates  do  not  touch  each  other. 
It  is  a  benefit  to  apply  the  positive  current  to  the  tongue 
while  the  negative  is  around  the  throat.  Treat  the  neck 
with  the  negative  current  while  the  positive  is  lower  on 
the  spine.  No  case  of  croup  need  be  lost  with  the  above 
remedies. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  113 

WHOOPIISTG  COUGH  OR  PERTUSSIS. 

An  attack  of  this  disease  is  much  lighter  when  treated 
with  electricity.  This  agent  reduces  the  irritation  and 
relaxes  the  muscles  so  that  the  cough  is  easier,  the 
whooping  is  scarcely  perceptible  and  the  paroxysms  are 
much  farther  apart.  ''  When  left  to  itself  and  uncompli- 
cated, whooping  cough  runs  about  six  weeks,  in  each  of 
the  successive  stages  of  development,  persis^"ence  and  de- 
cline." Under  electrical  treatment  the  worst  is  over  in 
three  weeks. 

DIPHTHERIA. 

Diphtheria  is  an  epidemic,  and  to  some  extent  an  in- 
fectious disease,  which  runs  a  very  rapid  course.  The 
patient  is  speedily  prostrated;  a  false  membrane  forms 
on  the  tonsils,  reaching  at  times  the  length  of  the 
throat,  often  accompanied  by  an  external  eruption.  It 
is  sometimes  complicated  with  diphtheretic  croup. 
Diphtheria  in  its  malignant  form  is  very  fatal,  but  need 
not  necessarily  be  so,  especially  when  we  have  such  a 
remedy  as  electricity,  with  its  wonderful  allotropic  or 
chemical  action  on  all  poisons  that  may  be  diffused  in 
the  blood,  either  from  epidemic  causes,  or  originating 
in  the  system  from  abnormal  conditions.  Electricity 
will  reduce  all  the  inflammatory  symptoms,  neutralize 
the  diphtheretic  poison,  and  stimulate  the  absorbents  to 
carry  it  out  of  the  system,  and  by  that  means  escape  the 
sequela  that  so  often  kills  the  patient  when  he  seems  to 
be  getting  better.  This  condition  must  be  caused  by 
the  diphtheretic  poison  passing  into  the  blood  and  caus- 
ing paralysis  of  the  muscles  of  the  heart.  Cases  in  this 
region  seemed  to  prove  fatal  from  this  cause.  I  also 
take  sulphur,  fine  charcoal  and  salt,  mix  them  to- 
gether and  administer  either  by  blowing  into  the  throat 
or  laying  a  small  powder  on  the  tongue.  I  then  satu- 
rate a  towel  with  strong  salt  water  and  wrap  it  around 


114  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

the  neck,  and  apply  the  negative  current  over  it,  put- 
ting the  positive  current  on  the  spine,  near  the  other; 
then  give  general  treatment  and  the  patient  can  be 
saved,  even  if  given  up  by  other  methods  of  treatment. 

DENTATION. 

•  I  treated  one  child  all  through  dentation,  and  with 
such  success  that  she  suffered  very  little.  When  her 
gums  vrould  cause  her  to  fret,  I  would  take  her  to  the 
battery,  and  she  would  immediately  stop  and  begin  to 
laugh.  When  the  current  was  wrapped  in  a  wet  cloth 
she  vrould  hold  it  in  her  mouth,  and  chew  it  with  the 
swollen  gums.  After  she  got  through  I  would  give  her 
a  general  treatment  to  still  futher  quiet  the  irritation, 
and  she  would  have  no  more  trouble  with  that  tooth, 
and  it  would  be  cut  in  a  few  days.  In  her  case  w^e  con- 
trolled the  colic,  colds  and  bowel  troubles. 

ATROPHY  OF  INFANTS 

Is  a  condition  caused  by  the  want  of  healthy  nutrition, 
and  is  characterized  by  general  marasmus,  or  wasting 
away  of  the  entire  system.  The  cause  may  be  in  the 
kind  of  food  the  child  is  supplied  with,  or  its  inability 
to  assimilate  what  is  eaten  on  account  of  the  want  of 
vital  action  in  the  nerves  of  the  stomach.  Here  electri- 
city acts  like  a  charm;  the  first  treatment  arouses  the 
nerves  leading  to  the  seat  of  digestion,  causing  the 
assimilation  of  food  to  be  perceptibly  increased.  It  has 
never  failed  in  my  hands.  If  it  did  I  knew  that  if  the 
food  were  changed  the  child  would  soon  reach  a  normal 
condition.  One  child  could  not  thrive  on  even 
Ridge's  §iod,  with  electricity  to  help  digestion,  but  the 
preparation  acted  as  a  poison,  causing  skin  disease.  Its 
food  was  changed  to  Swiss  condensed  milk,  and  all  was 
well.  Mrs.  L.'s  infant  was  seemingly  dying  with  maras- 
mus.    It  could  scarcely  assimilate  food  enough  to  keep 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  115 

it  alive.  It  had  the  best  physicians  but  they  gave  no 
hope  of  its  recovery.  I  had  previously  treated  the 
mother  and  others  of  the  family,  and  they  had  a  battery. 
She  wrote  me  about  the  child.  I  sent  instructions  just 
how  to  apply  the  electricity,  and  she  commenced  giving 
general  treatment.  The  first  treatment  was  of  benefit. 
I  also  warned  her  as^ainst  giving  strong  medicine  while 
using  electricity.  The  child  improved  right  along  and 
is  now  a  healthy  child  nine  years  of  age.  I  believe  near- 
ly every  case  of  atrophy  could  be  cured  if  it  could  be 
stimulated  with  homeopathic  doses  of  electricity. 
Never  give  a  child  any  but  very  light  currents  and  never 
use  tension  or  secondary  currents  on  a  child. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

CAUSE   OF  THE   POOR  HEALTH   OF   OUR  GIRLS. 

Soundness  and  purity  of  the  reproductive  organs  are 
indispensable  to  bearing  perfect  and  vigorous  offspring. 
If  both  mothers  and  daughters  could  be  induced  to  de- 
vote more  attention  to  the  laws  of  life  and  health,  there 
would  soon  be  an  end  to  the  diseases  now  prevalent 
among  our  young  women  to  such  a  lamentable  extent. 
There  are  plenty  of  over-kind  mothers  who  neglect  the 
physical  training  of  their  daughters,  and  when  the  trial 
of  menstruation  comes  a  moderate  degree  of  exercise 
throws  them  out  of  breath.  How  manj^  pale,  sallow- 
faced  girls  we  meet  who  plainly  show  their  sufferings,  and 
tell  the  world  that  their  physical  life  consists  of  listless 
idleness  and  "blue  pills."  Not  long  since  a  lady  called 
on  me  with  her  daughter,  a  pale-faced,  consumptive,  dys- 
peptic creature,  who  looked  as  though  the  sun  had  never 
thrown  a  ray  on  her.  The  mother  asked,  "Doctor,  what 
ails  my  child  ?  There  never  was  a  daughter  reared  more 
tenderly.  She  has  never  known  exposure,  never  had  to 
work,  and  has  been  an  object  of  constant  attention ;  yet 
she  is  so  frail,  and  is  failing  in  health  every  day."  My 
reply  was,  "Madam,  with  all  your  care  and  anxiety  there 
is  one  thing  you  have  neglected,  and  that  h  physical  ex- 
ercised "Oh,  no;"  said  she,  "I  assure  you  that  has  been 
attended  to,  she  has  had  physic  every  week  since  she  was 
a  little  girl.  We  have  given  her  a  wonderful  sight  of 
pills  to  purify  her  blood  and  strengthen  her." 

Alas !  too  many  parents  are  trying  this  kind  of  physi- 
cal exercise.     It  would  be  quite  as  sensible  to  strengthen 

116 


A  Treatise  Oir  Electricity.  117 

a  child  of  feeble  intellect  by  applying  strengthening 
plasters  to  the  brain,  as  to  invigorate  the  body  by  physic. 
Let  children,  boys  and  girls,  run  in  the  open  air  and 
breathe  "Grod's  blood  purifier,"  oxygen.  Nature  woes 
us  in  a  thousand  ways  to  bodily  activity.  Plato  says, 
''Exercise  will  almost  cure  a  guilty  conscience."  Who 
among  us  can  aiford  to  lose  such  a  valuable  panacea? 
Keeping  girls  a  large  portion  of  the  time  in  close  rooms 
without  physical  exercise,  and  at  the  same  time  allowing 
them  to  be  out  late  at  night,  is  wrong.  Many  of  our 
young  ladies  are  so  frivolous,  and  their  mothers  so  in- 
dulgent, that  I  think  it  wonderful  that  the  victims  of 
disease  and  death  are  not  more  numerous. 

The  careful  observer  on  our  promenades  may  see  our 
girls  lightly  clad,  exposing  themselves  to  all  kinds  of 
weather.  When  heated  by  exercise  or  the  warm  season 
they  will  drink  ice  water,  and  eat  ice  cream,  or  sit  in  a 
cool  draft.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  chlorosis  or  consump- 
tion attack  so  many,  and  that  the  menstrual  function 
never  assumes  a  regular  development?  Then  to  cap  the 
climax,  these  young  girls  are  given  brandy,  whiskey, 
and  other  hot  drinks,  in  the  vain  hope  that  these  stimu- 
lating beverages  will  restore  the  strength  which  has 
been  wasted  in  fashionable  folly.  It  were  better  no 
medicine  at  all  were  given  than  that  usually  prescribed. 
Iron  is  given,  but  in  many  cases  it  benefits  only  for  a 
time.  Physicians  often  know  that  their  prescriptions 
will  not  have  the  desired  effect,  but  the  anxiety  of  par- 
ents compels  them  to  order  something.  If  doctors  as  a 
class,  instead  of  prescribing  that  which  they  are  con- 
vinced will  be  of  no  benefit,  would  inquire  into  the 
habits  of  these  young  girls,  and  teach  them  how  to  live, 
and  keep  well,  it  would  be  more  commendable. 

The  best  treatment  for  acute  suppression  of  the 
menses  is  to  do  all  we  can  to  fortify  the  general  health. 
One  treatment  ot  electricity   will  generally  bring   the 


J 


118  A  Treatise  on^  Electricity. 

desired  result.  If  it  does  not,  three  treatments  will 
without  fail.  If  electricity  cannot  be  had,  if  the  pa- 
tient is  cold,  use  friction;  if  hot,  use  a  tepid  bath,  with 
a  good  rubbing  afterwards.  The  retention  of  the 
menses  is  often  attended  with  what  is  termed  chlorosis 
or  green  sickness,  where  the  skin  has  a  dingy  greenish 
color.  This  disease  attacks  delicate  constitutions,  and 
very  nervous  girls.  So  long  as  this  nervousness  is  not 
over-taxed,  she  will  enjoy  tolerably  good  health.  But 
when  nature  calls  for  her  monthly  tribute,  when  new 
thoughts  and  new  desires  take  her  attention,  then  when 
the  change  occurs,  the  frail  balance  is  destroyed,  the 
digestive  absorbents  and  assimilating  functions  fail,  and 
the  marked  symptoms  of  chlorosis  make  their  appear- 
ance. A  course  of  electrical  treatment  will  soon  cause 
this  to  pass  by,  a  healthy  menstrual  regularity  will  be 
assumed,  and  the  circulation  so  changed  that  in  place  of 
the  dingy,  green  color  of  the  skin,  a  healthy  pink  flow 
to  the  capillaries  will  be  the  result.  Electricity,  in  con- 
nection with  physical  exercise  and  a  careful  diet,  with  a 
reasonable  amount  of  good  judgment,  will  make  healthy 
girls  and  healthy  mothers  for  the  coming  man. 

The  degeneracy  of  our  female  population  is  alarm- 
ingly on  the  increase,  and  is  already  exciting  the  most 
anxious  solicitude  ;  and,  unless  some  radical  change  is 
soon  instituted  in  the  habits  and  costumes  of  female  life, 
health  will  bid  a  mournful  farewell  to  our  successors. 
I  have  made  it  a  point  to  teach,  as  far  as  possible,  hy- 
gienic laws  of  living,  discouraging  so  much  drug  and 
patent  medication  but  in  its  place  plenty  of  fresh  air, 
2jlain  but  wholesome  food  and  proper  physical  exercise. 
It  is  our  duty  as  physicians  to  teach  young  methers  how 
to  bring  up  healthy  children.  When  we  look  around 
us  and  see  how  parents  bring  children  into  the  world 
and  how  they  are  fed  and  dressed,  is  it  any  wonder  that 
death  claims  so  many  loved  ones  ?     One  of  my  hobbies 


A  Treatise-  ok  Electricity.  119 

has  been,  and  it  would  have  been  carried  out  but  for  the 
want  of  the  '^almighty  dollar  y''  to  found  a  college  for 
marriageable  girls,  with  a  winter  term  of  four  months, 
on  the  plan  of  medical  schools,  where  enough  of  anat- 
omy, physiology,  hygiene,  obstetrics,  and  diseases  of 
children  are  taught  to  make  her  familiar  with  her  own 
sexual  development.  Besides,  I  would  teach  a  thorough 
course  of  electro-therapeutics,  and  the  application  to 
herself  and  children.  What  can  we  expect  of  girls  who 
marry  in  ignorance,  she  to  develop  a  human  soul  in  her 
own  organism,  and  to  be  a  creator  of  human  life,  and 
not  taught  the  first  principles  of  her  sexual  wants,  or 
of  the  development  of  her  precious  babe?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  death  takes  half  of  the  children  born? 

DISEASES   OF   WOMEN". 

There  is  perhaps  no  class  of  diseases  concerning  which 
the  views  of  the  medical  profession  have  undergone  a 
more  complete  revolution,  within  a  comparatively  short 
period,  as  that  to  which  I  am  about  to  draw  your  atten- 
tion. Before  the  year  1820,  the  medical  profession 
seem  to  have  been  in  the  darkness  of  midnight  respect- 
ing the  true  cause  of  delicacy  among  females;  and  very 
little  progress  appears  to  have  been  made  until  1843, 
when  Professor  Simpson  shocked  the  medical  world  by 
his  bold  advances  in  uterine  pathology.  Since  that 
time  many  ardent  minds  have  been  called  into  the  ac- 
tive consideration  of  this  most  important  study.  While 
some  progress  has  been  made  there  is  much  yet  remains 
to  be  accomplished,  for  the  reason  that  almost  every 
woman  is  still  suffering  with  some  chronic  ailment  of 
the  uterine  system,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they 
have  been  for  years  seeking  relief  from  many  uterine 
pathologists,  who  have  used  different  kinds  of  mechan- 
ical devices  and  local  applications  of  stimulating 
remedies. 


120  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

Fifteen  years  of  experience  in  treating  all  classes  of 
uterine  diseases,  without  any  other  stimulant  or  me- 
chanical appliance  than  electricity,  and  the  wonderful 
success  attending  its  use,  have  lead  me  to  conclude  that 
herein  lies  the  solid  foundation  for  research  by  all  in- 
terested practical  uterine  pathologists.  Electricity  as  a 
stimulant  stands  pre-eminent.  Its  absorbing  power 
far  surpasses  the  caustic  treatment  now  employed  by 
uterine  specialists. 

It  was  by  accident  that  I  discovered  a  mode  of  appli- 
cation of  electricity  for  uterine  displacements,  which 
has  been  of  great  importance  to  me,  as  hundreds  of 
suffering  women  can  testify.  I  do  not  claim  to  have 
discovered  any  new  agent  or  element,  hut  do  claim 
the  discovery  of  a  new  method  of  applying  electricity, 
so  as  to  effect  a  certain  and  permanent  cure  for  all  pre- 
vailing uterine  diseases.  Our  method  of  application  is 
no  guess  work;  it  is  not  a  matter  of  doubt  or  uncer- 
tainty, but  is  based  upon  scientific  principles  that  can 
be  plainly  demonstrated.  We  invite  any  one  to  prove 
our  assertion  by  practically  carrying  out  our  instruc- 
tions. I  can  say  without  the  least  hesitancy  that  I 
have  cured  nine  out  of  every  ten  patients  treated  in  the 
last  fifteen  years,  and  not  only  was  the  local  difficulty 
cured,  but  the  general  health  was  built  up  and  the  at- 
tending symptoms  that  accompany  nearly  all  uterine 
diseases,  overcome.  I  am  certain  that  if  the  physician 
or  invalid  will  give  general  treatment  as  directed  in 
Chapter  X,  with  local  as  given  under  each  disease,  he 
will  be  as  successful  as  I  have  been. 

KYMPHOMANIA. 

This  formidable  disease  consists  in  an  uncontrollable 
passion  for  sexual  intercourse,  and  often  amounts  to  an 
actual  insanity.  The  cause  is  an  inflammation  of  the 
clitoris  and  nymphas,  from  numerous  causes.      When 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  121 


the  disease  has  progressed  for  some  time  the  general 
health  is  affected  through  the  constant  strain  on  the 
nervous  system.  To  cure  this,  general  treatment  with 
the  local  will  be  necessary.  For  local  treatment  take  a 
small  sponge  or  fine  cloth,  but  of  a  loose  texture,  wrap 
the  small  wire  of  the  cord  from  the  B  or  negative  cur- 
rent, and  apply  direct  to  the  clitoris.  Place  the  A  or 
positive  current  over  the  pubes,  or  on  the  spine,  or 
both,  and  a  part  of  the  time  in  the  vagina,  attached  to 
the  vagina  electrode. 

ABCESS  OF  THE  LABIA. 

Abcess  of  the  labia,  or  encysted  tumors  of  these  parts, 
are  usually  caused  from  injuries.  They  are  rapid  in 
forming  and  terminate  as  rapidly  by  suppuration,  but 
the  parts  are  prone  to  a  recurrence  of  this  trouble,  which 
can  be  cured  or  overcome  by  this  treatment.  If  the 
general  health  is  good  local  application  will  be  all  th^ 
is  required.  A  case  in  practice:  Mrs. — ,troubled  for 
years  with  abcess  of  the  labia;  examination  showed  a 
thickening  to  four  times  their  normal  size.  I  wound  a 
cloth  around  the  vaginal  electrode,  oiled  it,  and  passed 
into  vagina  so  the  labia  pressed  on  the  cloth  with  the 
negative  current,  placing  the  other  current  over  the 
spine,  then  over  the  groin  and  pubes,  treated  one  hour 
every  day  for  two  weeks.  Result:  labia  natural  thickness, 
ulceration  gone,  discharged  cured  and  no  return  of  the 
disease.  Fungus  growths  of  the  vagina  treated  in  a  simi- 
lar manner  with  like  results. 

PROLAPSUS   OF   THE  YAGII^A. 

Prolapsus  of  the  vagina  in  all  its  different  forms,  let 
it  be  anterior,  posterior,  or  inverted,  is  very  easily  con- 
trolled, by  using  the  vagina  electrode  with  negative  cur- 
rent at  the  sacral  nerves,  and  the  positive  current  in  the 
vagina,  for  fifteen  minutes,  to   contract  for  that  length 


122  V  Treatise  on^  Electricity. 

of  time;  then  change  the  negative  current  to  the  ab- 
domen, and  leave  the  positive  in  the  vagina.  If  sur- 
geons would  try  this  method  of  contracting  the  vagina 
walls,  they  would  never  be  obliged  to  cut  a  part  of  the 
Tagina  out,  but  would  be  surprised  to  see  the  indurated, 
thickened  walls  contract,  and  assuming  the  natural 
delicate  pink  color,  after  about  from  ten  to  twenty  ap- 
plications of  electricity.  General  treatment  should  be 
used  a  part  of  the  time,  letting  the  positive  current  re- 
main m  the  vagina  throughout  the  whole  treatment. 
Uterine  cramps,  neuralgia,  strictures  and  inflammations 
of  the  vagina,  can  all  be  controlled  if  treated  as  above 
directed.  Acute  forms  can  be  relieved  by  from  one  to 
three  applications.  In  all  the  above  cases,  if  a  thin 
piece  of  cloth  is  wound  around  the  electrode,  the  appli- 
cation is  more  certain  and  facilitates  the  cure.  The 
cloths  must  be  oiled  with  Cosmoline  or  Vaseline.  It  is 
^ore  dif&cult  to  enter  it  with  the  cloth  on. 

STRICTURE  AND  IN^DURATIONS    OF  THE  YAGIKA. 

Induration  of  the  vagina  is  caused  by  chronic  inflam- 
mation of  the  cellular  tissues.  Inflammation  causes  adhe- 
sion, contraction  and  stricture  of  the  vagina  walls.  Mrs. 
M.,  aged  50,  came  under  my  care  for  neuralgia  through 
the  pelvis.  She  had  been  a  widow  since  the  birth  of  her 
last  child.  At  that  time  she  had  been  very  sick  with 
inflammation  of  the  vagina,  from  injury  of  instrumental 
delivery.  I  discovered  a  stricture  with  other  contractions 
and  thickened  walls  about  three  inches  above  the  sphinc- 
ter vagina.  It  was  with  difficulty  I  could  enter  a  fe- 
male catheter,  the  opening  was  only  sufficient  for  the 
secretions  from  the  uterus  to  pass.  She  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  her  condition.  She  had  passed  through  the  cli- 
macteric period  or  change  of  life,  but  suffered  with  pains 
similar  to  labor  pains.  The  stricture  causing  the  sup- 
pression of  the  menstrual  flow,  weakened  all  the  nerves 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  123 

of  the  pelvis,  causing  neuralgia  with  every  change  of 
the  weather.  I  relaxed 'the  stricture  by  using  different 
sized  electrodes  with  the  negative  current,  treating  all  the 
nerves  in  and  around  the  pelvic  cavity.  By  the  time  the 
vagina  was  in  good  condition,  the  neuralgia  was  per- 
manently cured  and  her  general  health  greatly  improved. 
I  used  the  positive  current  internally  with  every  treat- 
ment. 

CASE  OF  ADHESION"  OF  THE  VAGINA. 

Miss  W.,  aged  35. — She  was  expecting  to  be  married 
in  a  few  months.  She  had  been  troubled  with  leucor- 
rhcea  for  years,  until  her  general  health  was  run  down. 
Upon  making  a  digital  examination  I  found  the  uterus 
in  the  left  groin  with  adhesions  so  strong  that  the  uter- 
us could  not  be  moved  upward  a  pal-ticle.  Of  course, 
the  vagina  was  contracted  and  indurated,  and  adhered  to 
the  pubic  bone  internally,  and  chronic  inflammation  of 
the  cervix,  complicated  with  dysmenorrhcea  (painful 
menstruation.)  I  gave  general  treatment  with  the 
vagina  electrode,  wrapped  with  cloth  wet  in  warm  soft 
water.  I  could  not  get  it  up  but  about  an  inch,  but  by 
treating  there  with  the  positive  current,  all  the  time  I 
was  giving  general  treatment  with  the  negative,  the 
vagina  having  an  alkali  reaction,  the  positive  an  acid, 
that  caused  a  still  stronger  chemical  action,  and  by  this 
mode  of  application  the  indurations  were  absorbed  rap- 
idly. After  treating  about  two  weeks,  giving  one  each 
day,  I  said,  "  I  am  going  to  pull  off  those  internal  ad- 
hesions." I  inserted  the  electrode  as  far  as  possible, 
which  was  nearly  three  inches  by  this  time  (the  vagina 
had  relaxed  so  much).  I  then  took  a  broad  plate,  plac- 
ing it  over  the  abdomen,  attached  to  the  contracting  or 
negative  current.  1  then  commenced  pulling  out  the 
plunger,  making  steady  pressure  on  both  currents.  In 
about  five  minutes  the  adhesions  gave  away  with  a  jerk, 


124  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

frightening  her  somewhat,  but  only  for  a  moment.  I 
expected  it,  as  I  had  in  many  other  instances  had  the 
same  thing  happen,  sometimes  when  there  was  adhesion 
in  the  region  of  the  liver,  and  in  other  cases  where  the 
uterus  adhered  to  the  rectum.  The  electrode  passed  up 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  it  the  next  morning,  and 
the  acute  inflammation  was  controlled  with  the  next 
treatment,  and  after  a  few  more  treatments  the  case 
was  dismissed  cured.  She  married  and  had  one  child, 
and  with  no  more  difficulty  than  most  women  of  adult 
age. 

YAGIITAL  FISTULA. 

Inflammation,  or  the  use  of  instruments  in  parturi- 
tion, may  cause  fistulous  openings  through  the  walls  of 
the  vagina,  into  some  of  the  surrounding  parts.  This 
class  of  diseases  are  difficult  to  heal,  often  creating  a 
necessity  for  surgical  interference.  But  by  using  elec- 
tricity to  the  surrounding  parts,  and  bringing  about  a 
vital  action  sufficient,  the  healing  process  goes  on  with- 
out local  or  surgical  aid.  If  it  does  not  unite  by  using 
the  vagina  electrode,  take  the  ear  or  lachrymal  duct 
electrode  and  direct  a  current  locally  to  the  fistula,  and 
the  induration  will  readily  absorb,  and  heal,  the  same 
as  in  fistula  in  ano. 

LEUCORRHCEA  OR  THE  WHITES. 

This  disease  consists  of  acute  or  chronic  inflammation 
of  the  vagina  or  uterus,  or  both.  The  color  varies;  it 
sometimes  is  white,  sometimes  green,  or  a  mixture  of 
both  geen  and  yellow,  and  sometimes  assumes  a  catarrh- 
al or  yellowish  color.  The  consistency  may  be  of  a 
creamy  nature;  it  may  be  tenacious  or  stringy,  if  the 
cervix  is  involved;  it  may,  if  coming  from  the  fundus, 
be  of  an  acrid  irritating  nature,  and  may  cause  pruritus. 
This    form    of    leiicorrhoea    becomes    contagious,   and 


A  Treatise  on  Electriciy.  125 

develops  disease  of  similar  nature  in  tlie  male. 
Leucorrlicea  is  so  copious  at  times  as  to  render 
napkins  indispensable  as  when  menstruating.  There 
will  be  more  or  less  pain  in  the  back,  down  the  groins, 
and  the  urethra  will  often  become  implicated,  causing 
painful  micturition.  This  disease  in  all  its  different 
forms  can  be  cured  with  electricity.  When  the  vagina 
is  the  seat  of  the  disease  the  local  treatment  is  nearly 
the  same  as  for  vaginitus,  only  more  treatments  will 
be  necessary.  If  the  discharge  is  acrid  the  uterus  will 
have  to  be  treated  locally.  Refer  to  uterine  disease. 
General  treatment  should  be  given  in  connection  with 
local,  as  it  will  restore  normal  action  much  sooner  than 
the  local  treatment  alone,  for  the  reason  that  general 
debility  and  gastric  disturbance  nearly  always  accompa- 
ny this  disease  through  sympathy. 

MENORRHAGIA. 

Profuse  menstruation  or  hemorrhage  may  take  place 
at  any  time  of  life.  But  the  most  common  is  that  which 
happens  during  the  period  of  menstruation  from  a  con- 
gestion or  relaxation  of  the  uterine  blood  vessels.  A 
certain  amount  of  blood  is  secreted  each  month,  and  this 
quantity  is  determined  by  the  temperament,  constitu- 
tion and  the  habits  of  each  person.  Women  that  are 
robust  might  lose  a  large  quantity  of  blood  at  each  pe- 
riod, and  not  suffer  from  it,  while  delicate  and  relaxed 
constitutions  would  experience  bad  effects.  Women  who 
are  most  subject  to  an  immoderate  flow,  are  those  who 
live  indolently  and  indulge  in  stimulants,  who  keep 
late  hours  and  have  very  little  outdoor  exercise, 
or  who  are  nearing  the  change  of  life.  To  these  I 
may  add  those  whose  physical  labors  are  too  hard  for 
their  constitutions.  A  real  healthy  person  will  never 
have  this  disease  except  under  some  peculiar  circum- 
stance for  a  single  time.       The  general  indication  for 


126  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

treatment  will  be  inferred  from'  the  character  of  the  dis- 
ease.    Electricity  controls  any  abnormal  hemorrhage. 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  was  cured  of  uterine  hemmorhage 
with  three  treatments  of  electricity  by  Dr.  S.  E.  Morrill. 
Mrs.  Aragaman  (German), 
808  Seventh  Street,  K.  W.  Washington,  D.  C. 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  was  cured  of  uterine  hemorrhage 
of  two  years'  standing ;  now  two  years  and  no  return ;  ad- 
ministered by  Dr.  S.  E.  Morrill,  M.  D. 

Mrs.  Moses  Brown,  Massillion,  O. 

dtsmenorrh(ea  or  painful  menstruation. 

This  disease  is  most  common  in  young  girls;  some  have 
pains  similar  to  labor  pains,  others  pain  in  the  groins, 
running  down  the  limbs.  This  is  caused  by  a  rigid  and 
contracted  condition  of  the  mouth  of  the  uterus.  Many 
girls  are  relieved  of  this  after  marriage  and  having  a 
child.  Electricity  will  cure  this,  if  the  treatment  is 
given  in  the  cervix,  by  using  the  positive  current  and 
relaxing  and  softening  up  the  neck.  The  only  difficulty 
is  the  impracticability  of  using  the  speculum.  I  have 
often  cured  such  cases  by  treating  through  to  the  uterus 
with  the  vagina  electrode.  That  replaces  the  uterus  if 
there  is  displacement,  which  often  causes  dysmenorrhoea 
alone,  beside  the  vital  current  running  through  will  re- 
lax the  OS  uteri.  A  Miss  C,  aged  26,  had  suffered  terri- 
bly every  month  for  years.  I  gave  her  six  or  eight  treat- 
ments. She  would  not  permit  an  examination.  At  time 
for  menses  she  was  as  sick  as  ever.  They  sent  for  me;  I 
used  the  electricity  and  relieved  the  pain  immediately. 
I  told  her  she  must  submit  to  an  examination,  that  I  could 
not  and  would  not  work  in  the  dark.  After  a  few  days 
she  consented.  I  made  only  a  digital  examination.  I 
discovered  retroversion.  I  then  treated  by  applying  the 
electrode  back  and  under,  and  the  next  menses  came 
without  pain. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  12T 

UTERUS. 

The  unimpregnated  uterus  in  its  normal  state  is  sit- 
uated in  the  lower  part  of  the  hypogastrium,  and  is  in- 
accessible to  the  touch  externally,  or  to  percussion,  but 
when  normally  developed  by  impregnation,  or  abnormal- 
ly diseased,  palpation,  percussion  or  electrical  diagnos- 
mg  furnish  us  with  important  information.  Any  dull- 
ness found  when  precussing  in  the  region  of  the  pelvic 
cavity  would  lead  us  to  suspect  a  tumor  or  other  morbid 
growths.  Tumors  of  the  uterus,  whether  developed  on 
its  surface,  in  its  walls,  or  within  its  cavity,  will  cause  it 
to  occupy  the  same  situation  as  a  gravid  uterus.  If  preg- 
nancy is  suspected  a  light  current  will  cause  a  strong 
motion,  and  if  no  motion  is  produced  then  it  is  propablj^ 
an  abnormal  growth,  and  other  mechanical  means  must 
be  resorted  to  for  diagnosing.  Sometime  fecal  accumu- 
lations in  the  large  intestines,  enlargement  of  the  spleen, 
liver  or  kidneys,  have  been  mistaken  for  tumors. 

It  is  important  that  the  electrical  operator  should  be 
well  posted  in  anatomy  and  the  nervous  system,  before^ 
taking  this  powerful  remedy  and  asking  the  confidence 
of  the  public.  An  electrician  must  be  an  expert  in  diag- 
nosing, if  he  wishes  to  excel  in  controlling  disease, 
especially  if  he  expects  to  cure  uterine  diseases.  There 
are  many  disorders  of  both  the  external  and  internal  gen- 
itals, such  as  nymphomania,  inflammations,  parasites 
and  tumors,  all  amenable  to  electrical  treatment,  and  we 
have  taken  them  up  separately  in  order  to  give  the  in- 
structions necessary  for  their  local  stimulation  with  this 
wonderful  remedy,  which  soon  will  be  the  lever  power  of 
the  medical  and  surgical  schools. 

DISPLACEMENTS   OF   THE   UTERUS. 

Prolapsus  uteri,  or  falling  of  the  womb,  may  truly  be 
said,  to  be  the  canker  worm  sapping  the  very  foundation 
of  health  and  vitality.  The  uterus  being  the  grand  nu-- 


fe 


128  A  Treatise  oi?^  Electricity. 

cleus  of  womanhood,  and  sympathizing  with  the  brain, 
through  its  spinal  and  sympathetic  nervous  system,  of 
course  when  displaced  it  must  necessarily  produce  those 
sufferings  known  only  to  a  woman  with  this  trouble. 
This  disease  in  its  different  forms,  being  the  result  of 
weakness  and  relaxation  of  the  ligaments  and  muscles 
holding  the  uterus  in  place,  no  permanent  relief  can  be 
experienced  until  the  vital  energy  is  restored,  and  mus- 
cular contraction  is  fully  established.  The  contraction 
of  muscles  and  ligaments  can  be  cured  by  the  mechan- 
ical action  of  electricity.  More  can  be  done  in  its  acute 
stage  in  five  minutes,  than  can  be  done  by  medicine  in 
a  month.  I  have  cured  acute  simple  prolapsus  with  one 
application  And  retroversion,  anteversion,  procidentia, 
with  all  their  complicsiiions^  never  fail  to  be  permanent- 
ly cured  with  from  ten  to  fifty  treatments.  Build  up  the 
general  health,  at  the  same  time  give  local  stimulation 
as  the  case  needs. 

UTERINE  DISPLACEMENT. 

This  is  to  certify  I  have  had  prelapsus  of  the  uterus  for 
five  years,  so  bad  that  I  could  hardly  be  on  my  feet,  and 
when  I  was  it  was  with  much  pain  and  distr  ess.  During 
said  time  I  used  all  I  could  hear  of  as  being  good ;  called  in  a 
number  of  physicians.  They  could  prescribe  astringents, 
such  as  sugar  of  lead  and  tannin,  &c.,  pessaries  and  abdomi- 
nal supporters.  They  did  me  no  good  to  the  curing  of  the 
complaint.  I  was  miserable.  I  thought  I  was  too  young  a 
woman,  thirty  years,  with  tliree  children,  to  drag  out  such  a 
life.  I  would  give  anything  to  be  well  again.  To  be  drugsced 
and  belted  up  all  my  life  was  too  horrible  to  think  of.  One 
of  my  lady  friends  came  in  while  I  was  feeling  so  bad,  and 
told  me  about  the  great  cures  that  Dr.  Morrill  was  making 
with  electricity.  As  soon  as  my  husband  came  in  I  re- 
quested him  to  go  and  bring  the  doctor,  which  he  did.  The 
doctor  examined  my  case,  and  said,  "1  can  cure  you  in  twen- 
ty-tive  treatments,  one  a  day."  I  am  well,  and  thank  God 
that  I  use  no  pessaries,  no  supporters  of  any  kind ;  and  fur- 
ther I  would  gladly  recommend  the  doctor  to  all  women  so 
afflicted.  Elizabeth  Snider. 


A  Teeatise  ON"  Electricity.  129 

Prolapsus,  or  simple  falling  of  the  womb,  is  .by  far 
the  most  frequent  form  of  displacements.  The  symp- 
toms are  dragging  pains  in  the  small  of  the  back; 
pulling  and  bearing  down  sensation  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  abdomen,  worse  after  active  exercise,  fre- 
quent call  to  make  water,  for  the  reason  the  uterus  in 
its  descent  drags  the  bladder  with  it.  The  peritoneum 
forms  the  great  suspensory  ligament,  one  of  the  func- 
tions of  this  membrane  being  to  sustain  all  the  pelvic 
organs.  The  peritoneum  is  the  true  uterine  supporter, 
the  other  ligaments  tending  rather  to  steady  the  uterus. 
This  membrane  is  reflected  from  the  bladder  upon  the 
womb  in  such  a  manner  as  to  sustain  it  in  front  from 
its  anterior  surface.  And  it  is  so  reflected  from  the 
uterus  upon  the  rectum  posteriorly,  as  to  sustain  it  in 
that  direction.  And  thus  it  is  evident  that  the  pro- 
lapsed uterus  depends  upon  the  relaxation  of  the  peri- 
toneum for  its  descent  into  the  pelvis.  In  anteversion 
the  fundus  falls  forward  toward  the  bladder.  Antever- 
sion implies  a  slight  falling  of  the  fundus,  or  the  organ 
bent  upon  itself.  We  sometimes  find  anteversion  with 
flexion.  The  symptoms  nearly  resemble  prolapsus  uteri 
and  can  only  be  determined  by  exploration.  Retro- 
version is  the  most  difl&cult  of  all,  but  no  less  impor- 
tant to  determine  and  cure.  By  a  digital  examination 
the  fundus  will  be  found  turned  back  in  the  sacrum, 
the  OS  uteri  or  mouth  of  the  womb  pointing  upward  to- 
wards the  bladder,  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  vagina. 
One  of  the  principal  symptoms  is  the  pressure  on  rec- 
tum, causing  constipation  and  difficult  micturation,  etc. 

The  local  treatment  of  all  displacements  consists  in 
making  the  application  so  as  to  bring  all  muscles,  liga- 
ments and  the  peritoneum  under  the  direct  action  of 
electricity.  We  as  physicians  are  aware  that  all  the 
mechanical  appliances  now  in  vogue  are  of  but  little  use 
for  permanent  benefit  or  replacing   the  uterus.     Many 


130  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

physicians  pretend  to  replace  it  with  the  uterine  eleva- 
tor or  by  digital  manipulations.  Relief  is  often  felt  after 
the  uterus  is  moved  off  from  inflamed  nerves  or  muscles, 
but  we  know  that  changing  the  position  does  not  cause 
contraction  of  the  peritoneum  or  muscles  that  have  been 
relaxed  for  years;  but  bring  these  relaxed  muscles  and 
ligaments  under  the  proper  influence  of  the  electrical 
current,  and  normal  action  is  permanently  gained.  The 
vagina  is  always  more  or  less  relaxed,  and  by  introduc- 
ing the  positive  current  into  the  vagina,  with  the  vagin- 
al  electrode  attached,  we  stimulate  and  tone  its  walls  so 
that  it  can  hold  up  the  uterus.  The  ligaments  are 
strengthened  by  the  external  application  of  the  negative 
current,  if  it  is  applied  with  broad  plates  large  enough 
to  cover  the  abdomen,  bringing  it  low  down  in  the 
groin,  the  current  will  be  felt  to  the  feet,  the  bowels 
will  pull  with  a  steady  contraction  not  unpleasant.  If 
retroversion  is  found  the  electrode  should  be  directed 
back  under  the  uterus.  It  will  take  a  number  of  treat- 
ments to  gain  any  perceptible  movement  upwards,  but 
manj'  attending  disagreeable  symptoms  will  be  immedi- 
ately removed 

One  of  the  worst  symptoms  in  the  case  of  Mrs. 
G.,  of  Chicago,  was  a  head  difficulty.  She  would  lose 
consciousness  at  times.  I  diagnosed  retroversion  with  a 
congested  uterus  and  hypertrophied  cervix.  She  felt 
some  symptoms  of  congestion  in  her  head  while  on  the 
train  coming  to  visit  me,  but  she  has  been  free  from  it 
since  my  first  treatment  six  years  ago.  I  lifted  the 
uterus  off  from  those  sacral  nerves  that  caused  the  reflex 
head  symptoms.  I  directed  the  electrode  under  the  re  • 
troverted  uterus,  raising  it  just  enough  to  relieve  the 
nerves,  and  treating  over  the  bowels  caused  contraction 
enough  to  hold  the  uterus  up  until  the  next  treatment, 
and  each  succeeding  one  strengthened  her  still  more,  and 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  131 

at  the  same  time  reduced  the  enlargement  of  the  uterus. 
After  three  weeks  she  went  back  a  new  woman,  and  has 
continued  well  ever  since.  She  learned  to  use  electricity 
and  bought  a  battery,  and  has  used  it  whenever  she  has 
felt  the  need  of  it,  and  by  that  means  has  kept  well. 

Some  thirteen  years  ago  this  same  Mrs.  G.  was  treated 
by  me  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  for  anteversion.  It  was  the  first 
case  of  adhesion  of  the  uterus  to  the  vagina  I  had  treated, 
and  I  discovered  that  by  accident.  We  were  treating  with 
the  electrode  in  the  vagina,  and  negative  current  over  the 
bowels.  I  was  giving  firm  pressure  and  pulling  the  lig- 
aments and  bowels  as  much  as  she  could  bear.  Off  came 
the  adhesion  with  a  jerk  unexpected  to  her.  "Well,"  said 
I,  ''the  uterus  is  in  place,"  and  such  proved  to  be  the  fact. 
She  had  no  more  difficulty  for  five  years,  when  the  same 
thing  occurred  again  as  above  stated,  and  she  found 
nothing  to  help  her  till  she  found  relief  in  the  treatment 
I  gave  her. 

ACUTE  AND  CHRONIC  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  UTERUS. 

We  have  two  forms  of  inflammation  of  the  womb: 
The  first,  sub-acute  form,  or  inflammation  of  the  mucous 
surfaces,  similar  to  the  catarrhal  inflammation  of  the 
vagina.  The  second  variety  is  inflammation  of  the  deep 
tissues,  and  is  called  metritis.  This  condition  may  be 
acute  and  run  into  a  low  grade  or  chronic  form.  In 
either  form  the  cervix  is  the  seat  of  the  disease,  and  if 
not  controlled  the  tendency  is  to  involve  the  deep  tissues 
and  then  ulceration  is  the  result. 

Endometritis  or  metritis  is  seldom  seen  before  puber- 
ty, never  except  when  caused  by  mechanical  injury  or  by 
external  inflammation  of  the  external  genitals.  I  was 
called  to  see  a  child  fourteen  months  old  who  had  been 
troubled  some  time  with  excoriation  or  chaffing  in  the 
groin.     It  had  extended  through   the  vagina  and    the 


132  A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 

symptoms  led  me  to  diagnose  metritis.  The  discharge 
had  all  the  symptoms  of  leucorrhoea  in  older  persons.  I 
used  a  female  catheter  to  the  positive  current,  the  nega- 
tive current  over  the  bowels  and  around  the  vulva. 
The  child  went  to  sleep  during  the  operation.  The  dis- 
charge was  more  profuse  for  twelve  hours  after  the  treat- 
ment. I  gave  three,  one  each  day.  Both  the  internal 
and  external  disease  was  cured.  I  gave  some  homeo- 
pathic remedies  besides.  Metritis  or  inflammation  of  the 
deep  tissues  and  substance  of  the  womb,  is  rarely  met 
with.  The  first  symptoms  are  rigors  followed  by  fever- 
ishness;  heat  in  the  pelvic  region;  deep-seated  pain  in 
the  vagina;  paroxysms  of  pain  in  the  back,  which  dart 
through  the  hips,  and  extend  down  the  groins  and  thighs. 
The  pain  is  aggravated  by  coughing  or  sneezing.  In  the 
chronic  form  a  slight  misstep  is  painful,  and  the  hypo- 
gastric region  is  tender  to  the  touch.  There  is  often  a  dis- 
position to  faint  on  sitting  up,  and  I  have  seen  hysterical 
mania  from  this  course.  This  condition  leads  to  hyper- 
trophy, indurations,  and  ulcerations. 

Electricity  will  CMre  all  this  class  of  diseases,  both 
acute  and  chronic.  My  mode  of  treatment  in  these 
cases  is  to  give  general  treatment  all  over  the  system, 
with  the  negative  current  attached  to  a  plate,  and  the 
positive  current  attached  to  the  vagina  electrode,  and  in- 
troduced in  such  a  way  that  the  uterus  is  affected  through 
the  wl\ole  treatment  of  an  hour  for  three  successive 
days;  the  evening  of  the  third  day  give  a  mild  physic, 
and  on  the  fourth  day  a  vapor  or  electrical  bath.  This 
method  changes  the  circulation,  driving  the  surplus 
blood  from  the  uterus.  When  the  vagina  electrode  is 
used  it  affects  the  nerves  of  the  spine,  so  that  the  cur- 
rent is  felt  to  the  end  of  the  toes,  warming  up  the  feet, 
changing  the  course  of  the  blood  to  the  extremities. 
Cold  feet  are  always  one  of  the   symptoms  of  metritis. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  133 

The  fifth  treatment  is  similar  to  the  three  first  ex- 
cept I  use  a  speculum  when  nearly  through  the  general 
treatment,  and  give  local  treatment  through  the  cervix 
with  plate  over  the  bowels,  using  the  same  current  as 
before.  I  use  the  entra  uterine  electrode  through  the 
speculum,  about  fifteen  minutes.  If  any  head  difficulty 
is  present  treat  (after  the  local  at  the  uterus)  with  nega- 
tive current  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  near  the  medular 
oblongata,  around  the  ears,  over  and  through  the  eyes 
with  very  light  current.  A  good  current  will  be  borne 
on  the  back  part  of  the  head.  The  hair  must  be  wet  be- 
fore commencing  the  head  treatment.  Care  must  be 
taken  about  exposure  to  the  air,  if  the  patient  is  delicate. 
I  have  had  patients  take  cold  by  going  out  after  the 
back  part  of  the  head  was  wet. 

PROCIDENTIA  OF  THE  UTERUS. 

In  these  cases  the  vagina  is  completely  prolapsed,  the 
uterus  can  be  seen  externally.  It  is  safe  to  conclude 
that  young  women  can  be  permanently  cured  of  proce- 
cedentia,  and  old  women  can  be  benefited,  and  proba- 
bly cured  if  they  would  take  sufiicient  treatments, 
though  I  have  not  been  able  to  hold  them  long  enough 
to  be  certain  of  this.  In  these  cases  the  peritoneum  is 
relaxed,  the  vagina  thickened  and  indurated  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  has  lost  its  tone,  and  as  sexual  stimula- 
tion has  passed  it  is  a  difiicult  matter  to  bring  back  a 
normal  condition  with  even  the  powerful  action  of  elec- 
tricity. Miss  S.,  20  years  of  age,  was  treated  for  proce- 
dentia  of  two  years  standing.  The  complications  were 
only  simple  vaginal  inflammation,  and"  seven  treatments 
cured  her,  and  she  washed  every  day  while  taking  it, 
that  being  her  only  way  of  making  a  livelihood.  I  saw 
her  three  months  after  and  she  had  no  return  of  the 
difficulty. 


134  A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity. 

ULCERATIONS  OF  THE    UTERUS. 

"Ulcerations  of  the  uterus  may  be  divided  into  four 
distinct  classes:  Erosion,  simple  ulcers,  malignant  or 
corroding  ulcers  and  cancerous  ulcers."  The  first  are 
simple  abrasions  of  the  cervix,  involving  the  mucous 
coats  alone.  The  appearance  is  a  vivid  red  color,  and 
sometimes  minute  granulations  with  congestion  of  the 
cervix.  If  there  is  only  this  local  manifestation  with 
slight  displacement,  and  no  important  constitutional 
symptoms,  from  six  to  eight  general  treatments,  with 
local  stimulation,  as  described  for  metritis,  is  all  that  will 
be  necessary  to  cure  the  case. 

Deep  seated  ulceration  sometimes  destroys  a  considera- 
ble portion  of  the  cervix,  and  the  ulceration  often  ex- 
tends all  through  the  canal  to  the  fundus.  The  mouth 
will  have  a  patulous  appearance.  When  the  disease,  let 
it  be  ulceration  or  inflammation,  reaches  the  canal  of  the 
cervix  or  fundus,  the  discharge  is  albuminous;  it  will  pass 
away  in  quantities  at  a  time  looking  like  the  white  of  an 
egg.  The  treatment  of  the  ancient  school  consists  of 
vaginal  injections,  mercurials,  and  what  they  term  tonics. 
This  course  is  the  one  that  has  been  pursued  for  centu- 
ries, unmindful  of  the  anatomical  relations  of  the  cer- 
vical canal  and  the  vagina,  and  the  impossibility  of 
reaching  the  disease.  It  has  always  proved  inefficient 
and  always  will.  To  cure  these  cases  give  general  treat- 
ment and  local  with  the  entra  uterine  electrode  attached 
to  the  positive  current. 

MALIGNANT  OR  PHAGEDENIC  CORRODING  ULCERS. 

This  non-cancerous  ulceration  is  found  after  middle 
life.  These  ulcers  no  doubt  originate  in  a  long  con- 
tinued inflammation  of  the  cervix,  extending  upwards, 
assuming  a  malignant  form,  as  the  blood  becomes  more 
and  more  poisoned  from  absorbed  acrid  secretions.  The 
ulcers  spread  from  the  cervix  to  the  fundus  and  often  de- 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  135 

stroy  the  cervix.  The  complication  sometimes  extends  to 
the  rectum  and  other  surrounding  parts.  There  is  a 
fetid  discharge,  which  varies  from  a  slight  straw  color  to 
dark  brown,  and  the  hemorrhage  is  often  alarming. 

Mrs.  U.,  aged  60,  had  been  suffering  with  all  the 
above  symptoms  for  years,  gradually  growing  worse. 
She  had  tried  all  schools  of  medicine,  and  patent  reme- 
dies "by  the  cart  load,"  she  said.  I  found  the  cervix 
nearly  obliterated.  The  uterus  was  as  thin  as  the  crop 
of  a  fowl.  The  rectum  had  become  ulcerated,  the  vagina 
was  inflamed  its  whole  length,  was  a  dark  red  color,  with 
burning,  stinging  pains.  By  the  eighth  treatment  I  had 
controlled  the  hemorrhage  and  the  pains  in  the  vagina 
were  relieved.  She  was  an  English  woman,  and  of  ro- 
bust constitution,  or  I  could  not  have  cured  her.  I 
treated  with  the  entra  uterine  electrode  for  a  while 
every  other  day,  and  every  other  in  the  rectum,  sometimes 
with  two  electrodes  at  one  time,  one  in  the  rectum,  the 
other  in  the  vagina.  It  took  fifty  treatments  to  conquer 
this  case. 

MORBID  GROWTHS  OR  FUNGI. 

Fungus  growths  are  not  very  common.  They  attack 
the  mucous  surfaces.  They  exist  in  consequence  of  want 
of  vital  action  of  the  diseased  membrane. 

Mrs.  C,  aged  45,  commenced  treatment  for  difficult 
micturition.  I  immediately  made  the  discovery  of 
fungus  growths  almost  filling  the  mouth  of  the  urethra. 
The  vagina  was  studded  with  them  from  the  size  of  a 
pin  point  to  the  size  of  a  bean,  the  largest  one  being  in 
the  urethra.  I  gave  most  of  the  treatment  locally, 
using  a  small  electrode  covered  with  thin  cloth  in  the 
urethra,  with  the  vagina  electrode  in  the  vagina,  bring- 
ing my  currents  close  together.  She  of  course  could 
stand  the  current  only  a  short  time  in  the  urethra.  I 
would  then,  while  treating  the  vagina,  use    the    negative 


136  A  Treatise  on^  Electricity. 

current  at  the  spine,  over  the  bowels,  and  around  the 
hips.  Twelve  treatments  absorbed  all  the  fungus 
growths,  and  relieved  all  the  painful  smyptoms. 

ASCAEIDES  OF  THE  VULVA. 

The  parasites  which  cause  this  disease  are  of  two 
kinds,  ascarides  and  lice.  The  former  may  escape  from 
the  rectum  and  cause  intense  itching.  By  giving  elec- 
trical treatment  it  arouses  such  vital  action  that  the  par- 
asites leave  for  parts  unknown. 

MOLES  AND  HYDATIDES. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  moles :  false  moles  occurring 
in  unimpregnated  females;  the  true  moles  are  due  to 
impregnation,  the  fleshy  moles  the  result  of  a  greater  de- 
velopment of  the  impregnated  ova.  Hydatides  or  viscer- 
al moles  are  considered  degenerated  ovams.  These  hy- 
datides can  be  discharged  from  the  uterus  without  danger 
of  hemorrhage  by  vitalizing  it  with  electricity. 

Mrs.  S.,  aged  thirty-five,  was  under  electrical  treatment 
for  tumor,  as  the  diagnosing  led  to  that  conclusion. 
When  she  had  taken  about  eight  treatments  she  com- 
menced to  have  pains  similar  to  labor  pains.  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  whatever  was  in  the  uterus  would  be 
discharged.  I  continued  the  treatment  until  the  tenth, 
and  that  night  the  whole  mass  came,  and  with  very  little 
pain  or  hemorrhage.  The  uterus  contracted  nicely  and 
she  was  up  in  a  few  days,  well.  The  mass  would  have 
weighed  fully  eight  pounds. 

CUTANEOUS  DISEASES  OF  THE  EXTERNAL  GENITALS. 

Many  forms  of  distressing  skin  diseases  develop  on  the 
external  genitals  in  both  sexes.  An  irritation  causing 
severe  itching  is  called  pruritus.  I  have  cured  many 
cases  of  long  standing,  but  not  until  the  cause  was  re- 
moved.      In  women  many  times   the    cause    is    from    an 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  137 

acrid  discharge  from  the  uterus.  By  treating  with  entra 
uterine  electrode  the  cause  would  be  cured.  If  from  the 
rectum  that  should  have  local  treatment. 

FIBROUS     TUMORS. 

Fibrous  tumors  of  the  uterus  may  be  absorbed  by  a 
systematic,  prolonged  and  persistent  use  of  electricity. 
The  constitutional  symptoms  arising  from  a  tumor  can 
all  be  controlled,  and  a  normal  standard  of  health  main- 
tained, the  tumor  being  slowly  absorbed,  by  treatin-g  every 
day  for  a  month,  and  then  three  times  a  week.  The 
tumor  is  discussed  by  stimulating  the  absorbents  through- 
out the  system  and  by  changing  the  circulation,  divert- 
ing the  blood  from  the  tumor.  Uterine  fibroids  are  pro- 
gressing oftentimes  for  years  before  discovered. 

Fibrous  tumors  have  and  can  be  absorbed  by  electro- 
lysis; but  better  results  are  permanently  gained  by  sim- 
ple external  electrization.  By  this  means  the  effete  mat- 
ter is  thrown  off  as  fast  as  decomposed  by  the  allotropic 
changes  made.  When  the  tumor  is  discussed  by  elec- 
trolysis the  system  cannot  get  rid  it,  and  a  metastasis  to 
some  other  more  vital  organ  may  be  the  result.  I 
treated  Miss  G.,  of  Cincinnati,  aged  40,  some  12  years 
ago,  for  fibroid  tumor  of  the  uterus.  She  was  very 
much  debilitated.  The  tumor  we  judged  weighed  from 
10  to  15  pounds.  I  commenced  to  build  her  general 
health  immediately.  In  a  month  her  health  had  mate- 
rially improved  and  tumor  reduced,  so  much  that  it  could 
not  be  noticed  externally  as  before  she  was  treated. 
One  unpleasant  symptom  attending  the  treatment  was  a 
congestion  to  the  head.  I  did  not  then  understand  why, 
but  since  that  time  I  have  discovered  that  every  part  of 
the  system  must  be  fortified  against  a  metastasis  of  the 
disease.  We  neglected  to  treat  the  head  because  she 
had  no  head  symptoms.  Miss  G.  is  still  enjoying  good 
health  and  how  much  of  the  tumor  still  remains   I  do  not 


138  A  Teeatise  ok  Electricity. 

know.  She  keeps  up  the  electrical  treatment  when- 
ever she  is  out  of  health  and  that  causes  absorption  of 
the  tumor  more  or  less. 

I  will  here  give  extracts  from  a  letter  of  a  woman  who 
treated  herself  under  my  instructions  for  fibroid  tumor. 
"  Dear  doctor,  I  am  doing  nicely;  when  I  began  using 
the  battery  I  measured  28  inches  around  the  waist,  now 
I  am  24;  around  the  abdomen  I  was  52  inches,  now  am 
39;  I  am  two  inches  longer  waisted,  and  not  four  months 
treating.  I  feel  quite  encouraged  and  recommend  the 
battery  and  Dr.  Morrill  for  everything.  I  cannot  thank 
you  enough  for  the  relief  you  have  given  me. — Mrs.  O., 
Akron,  Ohio:  Nov.  15,  1871."  I  called  on  this  lady  a 
year  afterward  and  found  she  had  walked  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  visit  friends.  The  neighbors  said  she  was  very 
much  better.     This  is  all  I  know  of  her. 

Mrs  C,  aged  45:  At  the  time  I  commenced  treating 
this  case  she  had  been  menstruating  through  the  right 
breast  for  over  a  year.  The  mamma  with  nipple  was  con- 
tracted and  indurated,  with  symptoms  of  incipient  can- 
cer. I  discovered  when  percussing  in  region  of  the 
uterus  a  dull  sound  as  if  she  might  have  a  tumor.  Upon 
examining  per  vagina  the  condition  of  neck  and  cervix 
was  that  of  a  pregnant  woman.  By  reaching  as  high 
as  I  could  I  discovered  a  tumor  laying  across  the  whole 
pelvic  cavity,  resting  on  the  basin  or  pelvis  in  such  man- 
ner as  not  to  interfere  with  the  bladder  or  rectum.  But 
the  uterus  was  so  filled  by  the  tumor  the  menses  could 
not  pass — the  reason  of  the  vicarious  menses  to  the  mam- 
mae. She  did  not  know  of  the  tumor,  although  symp- 
toms were  such  I  should  have  supposed  her  physician 
would  at  least  have  tried  to  investigate.  I  reduced  the 
induration  and  softened  up  the  breast  and  changed  the 
course  of  the  menses  to  throw  off  in  "hot  flashes,"  as  the 
climactive  or  change  of  life  was  still  troubling  her.  She 
regained  her  health.     But  how   rapidly   the    tumor    ab- 


A  Treatise  oif  Electricity.  139 

sorbs  I  am  unable  to  say.  It  is  evident  that  it  has  not 
increased  or  she  would  not  have  continued  in  good  health 
seven  years. 

I  absorbed  an  indurated  tumor  on  the  lower  eye- 
lid of  a  young  man,  some  12  years  ago.  It  had  been  pro- 
nounced cancer  by  one  of  the  best  surgeons  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  it  might  have  developed  into  one  in  time,  but 
I  do  not  think  it  was  one.  It  took  18  local  treat- 
ments. I  would  take  the  negative  current  and  attach 
it  to  small  electrode  and  treat  direct  on  the  tumor;  it 
caused  it  to  suppurate  and  at  each  treatment  it  dis- 
charged. It  was  absorbed  without  leaving  any  cica- 
trix, leaving  no  such  deformity  as  there  would  have 
been  had  the  knife  been  used. 

OVARIAN   TUMORS. 

The  larger  number  of  tumors  arising  from  the  ovaries 
are  dropsical,  and  incysted  and  held  by  a  pedicle  ;  hav- 
ing their  origin  either  from  the  ovary  or  fallopian  tubes, 
sometimes  by  single  cysts,  at  others  multilocular.  Elec- 
tricity will  absorb  ovarian  tumors  in  much  less  time  than 
fibroid,  for  the  simple  reason  that  so  much  of  the  tumor 
IS  fluid. 

By  giving  general  treatment  and  stimulating  the  skin, 
liver,  kidneys  and  general  system,  they  help  their  neigh- 
bor to  get  rid  of  the  burden,  and  by  diverting  the  blood 
away  we  stop  the  growth,  and  gradually  the  tumor  is  ab- 
sorbed. We  treat  the  same  as  for  fibroid  tumors,  but 
they  are  discussed  much  sooner. 

The  ovaries  are  subject  to  other  diseases,  as  irritations, 
congestions  and  indurations.  The  ovaries  are  less  ex- 
posed to  external  injuries.  They  hold  an  important  re- 
lation to  the  sexual  system,  and  many  serious  symptoms 
remote  from  the  ovaries  are  caused  by  their  diseases 
through  sympathy.  The  cause  is  many  times  never 
thought  of  by  the  general  practitioner,  but  had   he   elec- 


140  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

tricity  to  diagnose  with,  he  could  be  much  more  certain  in 
his  prognosis,  providing  he  knew   how  to  use  electricity. 

DROPSY  OF  THE  UTERUS PHYSOMETRA. 

Dropsical  accumulations  in  the  uterus  may  consist  of 
mucous  or  serous  fluids,  caused  by  some  obstruction  of 
the  canal,  stopping  its  natural  secretions,  giving  rise  to 
water  or  gas.  These  conditions  may  be  recognized  by 
the  enlargement  of  tKe  uterus.  Test  by  ballottement;  if 
uterus  is  lighter  than  when  pregnancy  is  present  then 
water  or  gas  must  be  diagnosed.  When  gas  is  the  cause 
of  the  enlargement  it  will  be  very  light.  It  will  be  safe 
even  if  pregnancy  is  suspected  to  give  electrical  treat- 
ment per  vagum  and  entra  uterus  also.  If  physometra  is 
the  disease,  discharges  will  very  soon  be  noticed  in  puffs 
if  gas,  if  water  a  constant  oozing  or  occasional  gushing  of 
fluids.  If  a  catherter  can  be  introduced  after  a  few 
treatments,  the  discharge  of  both  water  and  gas  will  pass 
^away.  Then  continue  a  few  more  treatments  to  Qontract 
and  vitalize  the  uterus,  and  health  will  be  restored. 

VULVITAS  OR  INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  EXTERNAL  GENITALS. 

Acute  inflammation  of  the  genitals,  from  whatever 
cause,  runs  a  very  rapid  course.  This  condition  can  be 
controlled  with  one  or  two  local  treatments  of  electri- 
city. If  inflammation  is  diffused  through  the  external 
parts  sit  in  salt  water  with  the  negative  current  in  the 
water,  and  the  feet  in  a  bucket  of  water  with  the  posi- 
tive current  in  that.  When  the  superficial  inflammation 
is  reduced  treat  as  for  vaginitis. 

POLYPUS. 

These  cysts  ought  to  be  removed  by  electro-cautery 
or  by  ligature,  then  local  stimulation  with  electricity  to 
vitalize  the  parts,  so  that  others  will  not  form.  I  have 
absorbed  the  blood  in  large  polypi,  and  thought  they 
were  cured,  but  the  cyst  or  sack  will  fill  again. 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  141 

AMPUTATION  OF  THE  CERVIX. 

This  is  a  useless  surgical  operation,  because  electricity- 
will  reduce  the  most  stubborn  case  of  indurated,  hyper- 
trophied  or  ulcerated  cervix.  If  malignant  the  amputa- 
tion does  not  cure  the  disease  and  it  will  return.  I  have 
reduced  kn  elongated  cervix  or  os  when  it  would  meas- 
ure an  inch  over  the  normal  length  and  indurated  to 
that  extent  it  seemed,  from  the  sound,  like  striking  a 
bone.  The  lady  was  so  debilitated  that  she  had  to  be 
carried  to  the  treating  chair.  She  was  cured  in  three 
months  so  that  she  was  able  to  do  her  housework,  and 
was  all  right. 

LIPOMA  OR  PATTY  TUMORS. 

Electrical  treatment  of  all  kinds  has  failed  in  my 
hands  to  cure  fatty  tumors,  but  electrolysis  will  cure  by 
using  both  currents  through  the  tumor.    . 

ERECTILE    TUMORS. 

This  class  of  tumors  can  be  reduced  by  electrolysis. 
But  general  faradization  should  be  used  in  connection,  to 
overcome  any  difficulty  that  might  arise  from  a  matastasis 
of  the  disease. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SPEBMATOCELE   AKD   HYDROCELE. 

Notwithstanding  Sir  A.  Cooper  and  other  authors' 
"  hopeless  relief,"  we  can  vouch  for  a  certainty  that  both 
the  above  diseases  can  and  have  been  permanently  cured 
with  electricity.  Both  currents  must  be  run  through 
from  side  to  side  with  small  concentrated  current 
through  the  scrotum,  as  near  varicose  veins  as  possible, 
moving  the  negative  current  upward  to  contract  walls 
of  the  vein.  For  hydrocele,  a  good  treatment,  and  used 
with  less  labor,  is  to  sit  on  the  positive  and  wrap  the 
sexual  organs  up  in  a  napkin  wet  in  hot  salt  water,  and 
apply  a  small  plate  attached  to  the  negative  current;  or 
use  the  positive  in  the  rectum  to  arouse  the  prostate  or 
any  other  gland  in  that  region,  and  the  negative  current 
as  above. 

SPERMATORRHOEA. 

"  In  no  instance  is  the  curative  power  of  electricity 
more  strikingly  illustrated  than  in  this  peculiar  com- 
plaint; not  only  is  the  cause  speedily  eradicated,  but 
through  the  manipulations  of  the  scientific  electrician 
the  chain  of  connection  is  re-established  between  mind 
and  body,  thus  removing  the  last  vestige  of  this  horrid 
malady. 

"A  description  of  this  disease  and  its  symptoms  seems 
necessary,  as  it  stamps  itself  in  unmistakable  characters 
upon  the  faces  of  its  victims,  in  a  melancholy,  careworn 
expression,  and  sometimes  in  pimples  and  sores.  Its 
contaminating  influence   insinuates  itself  throughout 

142 


A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity.  143 

the  whole  system,  closing  up  all  the  mental  and  physi- 
cal avenues,  and  shutting  out  all  hopes  of  future  happi- 
ness. It  lays  the  .foundation  of  nearly  every  form  of 
disease,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  causes  of  consumption, 
impotence,  insanity,  and  even  self-destruction.  This 
disease  is  very  imperfectly  understood.  The  external 
manifestations  or  symptoms  are  nervous  debility,  relax- 
ation and  great  exhaustion,  marasmus  or  wasting  and 
consumption  of  the  tissues  of  the  whole  body,  shortness 
of  breath  or  too  hurried  breathing  on  ascending  a  hill 
or  flight  of  stairs,  palpitation  of  the  heart,  asthma, 
bronchitis,  and  a  dry  sore  throat,  trembling  and  shaking 
of  the  arms  and  lower  limbs,  aversion  to  society,  busi' 
ness  and  study;  sometimes  dimness  of  the  eyesight,  loss 
of  memory,  dizziness  of  the  head,  neuralgia,  pains  in 
various  parts  of  the  body,  dyspepsia,  constipation  of  the 
bowels.  For  diseases  of  this  kind  electricity  is  a  sov- 
ereign remedy.  Owing  to  the  versatility  of  its  nature, 
these  difficulties  can  be  reached  and  eflPectually  removed. 
By  a  proper  change  of  polarity,  irritation  is  reduced, 
relaxed  glands  and  muscles  contracted,  the  nerves  invig- 
orated, and  the  disordered  and  debilitated  functions 
restored  again  to  their  normal  action.  The  depression 
of  spirit  and  dark  forebodings  experienced  by  the  suffer- 
ers are  instantly  dispelled,  and  mind  and  body  brought 
once  more  into  harmonious  action.  Even  where  the 
electrical  polarity  of  the  brain  has  become  so  deranged 
as  to  cause  partial  insanity  or  idiocy,  we  have  succeeded 
in  arresting  the  troubles  and  restoring  the  sufferer  to 
the  enjoyment  of  permanent  health." 
Give  general  treatment  with  local. 

impotency. 

The  symptoms  attending  this  are  so  nearly  allied  to 
spermatorrhoea  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  go  into 
details  here,  but  give  the  treatment  that  covers  both 


144  A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 

diseases.  The  local  treatment  must  be  similar  to  that 
given  for  stricture,  phymosis,  etc.  It  will  be  necessary 
to  treat  through  the  urethra  as  in  stricture,  and  the 
rectum  as  for  prostatitis.  The  mucous  surface  must  be 
aroused,  and  it  will  take  from  ten  to  twenty-five  treat- 
ments to  cure  impotency,  perhaps  fifty,  but  it  is  certain 
to  do  so  if  persevered  in.  It  is  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance that  sexual  intercourse  is  abstained  from  while 
treating,  as  disastrous  results  sometimes  follow.  Case 
of  Mr.  S.,  aged  50,  impotent  from  excesses.  He  was 
advised  to  be  abstemious,  especially  while  under  treat- 
ment; he  defied  the  instruction,  and  died  in  the  act  of 
coition,  and  not  under  circumstances  very  creditable. 
His  improvement  had  been  rapid,  and  had  he  attended 
strictly  the  treatments  and  followed  the  instructions 
given,  he  would  have  regained  his  health.  About 
twenty-five  treatments,  general  and  local,  are  necessary 
to  effect  a  permanent  cure. 

SATYRIASIS. 

This  is  unquestionably  a  sexual  insanity.  It  is  a 
morbid  amative  passion,  nearly  allied  to  nymphomania 
in  the  female,  and  from  similar  causes.  There  is  a 
chronic  inflammation  of  the  sexual  organs,  causins: 
abnormal  appetites.  This  inflammation  can  be  reduced 
with  less  difficulty  than  chronic  inflammation  of  the 
stomach,  because  more  accessible  to  the  local  application 
of  electricity.  The  disease  is  more  common  than  is 
generally  known,  except  to  the  wives  of  men  who  are 
afflicted  with  the  complaint;  they  have  actual  knowledge 
of  it.  Many  a  poor  woman  has  been  murdered  and  is 
now  in  her  grave.  These  facts  are  known  to  many 
physicians,  but  they  know  of  no  remedy  to  cure 
satyriasis.  There  is  one  in  electricity,  if  it  be  applied 
as  for  other  sexual  diseases. 


( 


A  Teeatise  oj^  Electkicity.  145 

DISEASES   OF   THE   PROSTATE   GLAND. 

These  yield  readily  to  the  treatment  of  electricity.  In 
this,  as  in  other  local  diseases,  the  general  health  must 
be  built  as  well  as  the  local  trouble  attended  to.  I  use 
in  this  the  same  electrode  as  in  piles,  with  the  A  current. 
If  convenient  treat  through  the  urethra,  and  then 
the  B  current  will  pass  directly  through  the  gland; 
or  wrap  the  penis  and  scrotum  in  a  cloth  and  lay  a  small 
plate  over;  this  will  answer  almost  as  well.  It  will 
require  from  five  to  twenty  treatments,  according  to 
length  of  time  the  disease  has  be^n  developing.  In- 
flammation of  the  prostate,  hydrocele,  spermatorrhoea 
and  impotency  can  be  cured  this  way.  The  last  is  a 
disease  met  with  frequently,  and  this  treatment  will 
cure  it. 

PHYMOSIS   AND   PARAPHIMOSIS. 

Phymosis  is  a  contraction  of  the  edge  of  the  prepuce 
in  front  of  the  orifice  of  the  urethra.  This  can  be 
relaxed  by  treating  the  constriction  with  the  positive 
current  to  relax,  with  the  negative  to  the  coccyx.  If 
much  indurated  the  negative  must  be  used  on  the 
induration  to  absorb  that  before  it  can  be  relaxed- 
Paraphimosis  is  the  reverse  of  the  former,  the  prepuce 
becoming  retracted  behind  the  corona  glandis,  leavmg 
the  gland  uncovered.  The  treatment  will  be  the  same 
as  for  phymosis. 

HERNIA. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  inguinal  hernia,  viz.: 
the  oblique,  direct,  congenital  and  incysted.  Of  these 
the  oblique  is  the  most  frequently  met  with.  It  follows 
the  course  of  the  spermatic  cord,  and  commences  at  the 
internal  abdominal  ring  and  passes  into  the  inguinal 
canal.  These  different  varieties  have  their  exit  into  the 
internal  abdominal  ring,  and  that  is  the  place  to  fortify 

10 


146  A  Tkeatise  oi?^  Electricity. 

with  electricity.  By  giving  treatment  with  the  negative 
Current  over  the  ring  and  surrounding  muscles  until 
an  inflammatory  condition  of  the  muscles  is  gotten 
up,  and  contraction  and  firmness  of  the  relaxed  mus- 
cles is  caused,  the  cure  is  effected,  and  can  be  accom- 
plished in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  I  cured  a  man  75 
years  of  age,  who  had  been  troubled  for  20  years;  he 
had  worn  a  supporter  all  this  time.  The  muscles  con- 
tracted until  they  felt  uncomfortable,  but  one  treatment 
of  the  positive  current  relaxed  sufficient  to  bring  all 
into  a  normal  condition.  I  mention  this  case  to  show 
that  if  electricity  will  cure  a  man  over  70,  it  can  cure 
younger  men  if  treated  with  the  right  currents. 

GON^ORRHCEA. 

This  disease  is  characterized  by  a  specific  morbid 
secretion  from  the  urethra  in  males,  and  from  the  vagina 
in  females.  Gronorrhoea  can  be  controlled  by  a  few  local 
treatments.  The  electric  action  will  cause  such  chemical 
changes  as  will  neutralize  the  specific  poisons.  For 
local  treatment  take  a  small  earthen  mug,  fill  it  with 
warm  salt  water,  put  into  this  mug  the  penis  and  the 
negative  current,  the  positive  current  at  or  near  the 
scrotum  or  spine,  always  using  the  a  h  currents  to 
change  blood  poisons.  If  a  mug  is  not  convenient  wrap 
the  organ  up  in  cloth  with  the  negative  current,  adapt- 
ing the  strength  of  current  as  the  patient  can  bear  it 
pleasantly. 

GLEET. 

Gleet  is  a  chronic  form  of  gonorrhoea.  The  discharge 
is  pale  green,  or  colorless.  This  condition  sometimes 
continues  for  years,  and  is  aggravated  until  a  permanent 
stricture  is  formed,  or  thickening  of  the  bladder,  or  dis- 
ease of  the  prostates  is  established.  To  cure  this  disease 
the  treatment  must  be  similar  to  that  for  stricture  and 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 


147 


prostate  glands,  and  the  mode  of  treatment  will  be 
found  under  those  diseases.  The  cure  is  certain,  if  elec- 
tricity is  applied  according  to  directions. 

BUBO. 

Bubo  being  only  an  enlarged  lymphatic  gland  from 
sympathy,  it  will  readily  yield  to  electrical  stimulation 
applied  locally  to  the  bubo.  In  swelling  of  inguinal  or 
other  glands  that  appear  through  sympathy  from 
injuries  or  disease,  discuss  them  if  possible  before  ulcer- 
ation is  in  process.  If  suppuration  is  inevitable  treat 
as  described  for  ulcers. 


I,  is  the  prostrate  gland,  the  current  in  the  urethra,  and  M,  the  rec- 
tum, will  reach  It  direct. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

BLOOD    POISONS. 

We  claim  that  all  poisons  can  be  eliminated  from  the 
blood  by  a  thorough  course  of  electrical  treatment ^ 
We  believe  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  cancer,  scrof- 
ula, and  all  latent  hereditary  diseases  will  be  aroused 
and  thrown  from  the  system,  in  the  same  manner  that 
I  relieve  the  system  of  malaria  and  other  effete  matters. 
While  the  nervous  system  is  strong  enough  to  repel  and 
defend  itself  against  the  invasion  of  mineral  and  other 
blood  poisons,  the  circulation  will  be  normal;  but  when 
the  vital  forces  from  any  cause  are  weakened,  the  blood 
becomes  impure,  and  the  liver  and  other  excretory  or- 
gans are  soon  clogged  up  and  unable  to  throw  off  the 
heavy  burden.  Nature  revolts  in  different  ways,  some- 
times by  rheumatism,  bilious  attacks,  etc.  The  system 
asks  for  help,  but  receives  a  stone,  in  the  form  of  strong 
medication,  that  still  further  depletes  the  nervous 
system. 

HEKEDITARY   DISEASES. 

Hanneman  says:  "  Hereditary  diseases  arise  from  a 
peculiar  psora  of  the  bk>od,  latent,  which  sooner  or  later 
develop  under  certain  conditions  and  influences  of 
natural  pauses,  and  multiply  the  innumerable  multitude 
of  chronic  diseases.  This  psora  will  remain  latent  for 
years  and  then  develop,  either  from  infection  or  inherit- 
ance, and  there  is  no  limitation  to  this  action."  The 
frequent  metastasis  of  disease  from  the  surface  to  the 

148 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  149 

mucous  membranes  and  internal  organs,  where  sudden 
death  follows,  is  a  fact  well  known.  A  great  many 
diseases  are  due  to  a  miasma  latent  in  the  system,  which, 
when  circumstances  favor  it,  becomes  aroused,  and  ulti- 
mates  in  consumption,  asthma,  etc.  This  psora  when 
thrown  towards  the  skin  develops  boils,  carbuncles, 
cancer,  and  tetter  in  teething  children;  if  it  is  suddenly 
inverted  death  will  follow. 

When  people  have  reason  to  infer  that  they  have  in- 
herited blood  poison   of   any  kind,    and  come  under 
electrical  treatment   or  any  other  that  might  arouse 
these  latent  poisons,  they  ought  to  continue  the  treat- 
ment until  it  is  eradicated  from  the  system,  for  fear  of 
giving  to  their  children  that  which  they  have  inherited. 
I  am  positive  it  can  be   accomplished.      I   remember 
treating    a    lady    who    inherited    consumption.      She 
was  treating  for  uterine  and  malarial  troubles,  compli- 
cated with  chronic  catarrh — three  kinds  of  blood  poison. 
The  treatment  was  continued  three  weeks  and  she  was 
very  much  benefited  in  regard  to  the  lung  and  uterine 
difficulties,  but  some  of  the  blood  poisons  were  stilP  in 
the  system,  active,  not  latent^  the  system  all  this  time 
trying  to  purify  itself.     After  a  few  months  she  became 
pregnant.     The  child  seemed  healthy  until  the  period  of 
teething,  when  it  developed  tetter  or  teeth  rash.     The 
child  sickened  and  died.     The  question  arises:    Did  that 
child  take  from  the  mother  the  active  poisons  any  sooner 
than  it  would  if  they  had  been  latent?     I  think  it  did, 
but  here  is  a  chance  for  investigation  and  experiment. 
The   mother   seemed   to   still   continue  to   regain   her 
health.     She  now  has  another  child,  and  the   question 
is:  Was  her  blood  pure,  and  will  this  child  be  as  free 
from  psora  as  her  older  children  seem  to  be,  or  will  this 
child  be  entirely  free,  and  will  the  older  ones  have  latent 
psora  in  their  systems  to  develop  when  older? 


150  A  Treatise  oh  Electricity. 

CANCER. 

Carcinoma  or  scirrhus  is  malignant  in  its  character, 
and  in  its  suppurative  stage  is  designated  cancer.  A 
scirrhus  tumor  is  known  by  its  uneven  and  hard  sur- 
face. The  peculiarities  are  its  heaviness  in  proportion  to 
its  size,  its  leaden  hue,  and  contraction  of  the  skin  that 
covers  it.  The  pain  attending  cancer  is  lancinating, 
shooting  and  sharp;  similar  to  that  of  neuralgia  but 
more  stinging.  The  lymphatic  glands  situated  near  the 
tumor  are  generally  involved  through  sympathy.  A 
painful  indurated  swelling  shows  what  is  coming  and  is 
considered  a  dangerous  symptom. 

This  disease  may  be  treated  with  moderate .  success, 
and  electricians  throughout  the  country  claim  in  treat- 
ing this  disease  a  great  number  of  cures.  They  do  of- 
ten discuss  cancerous  tumors  by  electrolysis,  but  my 
impression  is,  that  it  is  done  at  the  expense  of  some 
other  organs.  When  tumors  or  cancers  are  discussed 
by  any  local  treatment,  there  is  almost  a  certainty  of  a 
metastasis  of  the  disease,  and  death  follows.  To  perma- 
nently cure  this  disease  or  any  other  local  difficulty  we 
must,  as  fast  as  these  chemical  changes  are  made,  give 
our  treatment  in  such  manner  as  to  carry  it  out  of  the 
system.  It  depends  wholly  upon  the  constitutional  con- 
dition of  the  patient.  Many  cases  that  were  claimed  to 
have  been  cured  were  not  true  carcinoma;  indurated 
glands  that  are  not  malignant"  «Te  very  soon  softened 
and  absorbed  with  electricity. 

Electrolysis  will  discuss  tumors  of  all  kinds,  but  to 
be  permanent  the  cancer  cells  must  be  changed  by  the 
allotropic  powers  of  the  nervous  system  under  the  in- 
fluence of  electric  action,  and  this  chemical  change  of 
cancer  cell,  with  the  proper  treatment  of  the  constitu- 
tional condition,  may  in  time  be  so  perfected  as  to  give  us 
a  positive  hope,  that  electricity,  galvanism  and  electrol- 
ysis combined,  will  completely  eradicate  the  cancer  cell 


A  Treatise  ok  Electricity.  151 

and  other  malignant  diseases  from  tlie  blood.  Electro- 
magnetism  alone  will  not  remove  a  true  scirrhus  tumor; 
it  may,  if  persevered  in,  remove  the  cancer  cell  from 
the  blood,  after  the  tumor  has  been  removed  by  electrol- 
ysis or  the  knife.  The  general  health  must  be  built  up 
by  a  thorough  course  of  treatment,  arousing  all  the  vital 
forces,  before  the  tumor  is  operated  upon,  and  aJPterward 
another  course  of  treatment  taken  to  change  all  cancer 
cells  that  may  be  still  floating  in  the  blood,  and  to 
tone  the  system  still  further.  We  might  in  this  way 
make  a  permanent  cure,  but  never  with  any  local  treat- 
ment can. true  carcinoma  be  cured.  History  of  different 
cases  teaches  this. 

Mrs  B.  was  treated  by  the  writer  for  scirrhus  of  the 
mamma  gland.  It  was  larger  than  a  hen's  egg,  had 
been  growing  about  a  year.  She  inherited  cancer  from 
both  father  and  mother.  She  had  all  the  distressing 
symptoms,  general  debility,  impaired  digestion,  distress- 
ing bronchial  cough,  hypertrophied  liver.  I  did  not 
expect  to  discuss  the  tumor,  but  gave  general  treatment, 
to  tone  and  strengthen  the  system,  preparatory  to  the 
removal  of  the  tumor  by  the  knife.  The  cough  was 
nearly  controlled,  her  digestion  was  improved  and  the 
whole  system  benefited.  She  recovered  from  the  oper- 
ation and  remained  comfortable  for  some  time  after.  I 
was  anxious  to  treat  her,  as  soon  as  she  came  home, 
for  fear  of  a  return  of  the  difficulty,  but  the  wise  sur- 
geon frightened  her  in  regard  to  the  use  of  electricity, 
by  telling  her  if  she  had  cancer  electricity  would  make 
it  develop  faster.  Such  ignorance !  (It  showed  all  he 
knew  about  it  was  for  local  treatment.)  Of  course  if 
only  a  certain  part  of  the  system  is  treated  and  vital- 
ized, the  impurities  will  all  be  attracted  to  that  part,  and 
nature  will  try  to  rid  herself  of  such  by   suppuration. 

After  she  had  been  home  a  while,  she  complained 
of  rheumatism   all   over  her  body.      I  tried,  through 


152  A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity. 

her  husband,  to  have  her  take  electro-vapor  baths, 
if  nothing  else  but  no,  her  physician  considered 
it  his  duty  to  ignore  electricity  in  any  form.  He  proba- 
bly was  not  av^are  that  those  rheumatic  pains  were 
caused  by  floating  cancer  cells,  affecting  the  nerves  and 
muscles.,  I  firmly  believe  that  I  could  have  cured  her 
by  causing  a  chemical  change  and  using  the  electric  in- 
fluence in  connection  with  baths,  and  she  might  to-day 
have  been  with  her  family.  Understanding  her  consti- 
tution as  I  did,  I  would  have  given  general  treatment 
with  electro-galvanism  and  electro-vapor  baths,  treat- 
ing her  as  for  any  other  blood  poison.  I  believe  the  can- 
cer cells  would  have  undergone  such  a  chemical  change 
tnat  they  could  have  as  well  been  discharged  from  the 
system  as  any  other  poison.  Her  death-warrant  had 
been  signed  by  her  physician.  He  knew  death  would 
claim  her  for  his  own.  Why  are  people  so  bigoted  as 
to  ignore  this  God-given  adjunct,  and  not  study  it  and 
determine  what  it  might  do?  This  doctor  might  have 
allowed  her  one  chance  of  life?  After  the  rheumatic 
pains  disappeared  she  had  a  number  of  small  scirrhus 
tumors  form  around  the  same  breast,  but  the  disease 
inverted,  and  she  died  of  consumption. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

This  disease  is  characterized  by  a  shining  red  inflam- 
mation, accompanied  with  more  or  less  swelling,  and 
distressing  irritation,  with  a  stinging,  smarting,  burning 
and  itching  sensation.  The  irritation  is  sometimes  so 
great  as  to  almost  set  the  patient  crazy.  It  causes  a 
peculiar  nervous  sensation,  which  is  impossible  to  define 
and  cannot  be  forgotten,  as  the  author  can  vouch  fur; 
but  I  am  happy  to  say  that  electrical  treatment  did  and 
will  eradicate  erysipelas  blood  entirely  from  the  system. 
The  disease  is  often  only  superficial,  affecting  merely 
the  skin;  but  when  the  more  dangerous  phlegmonous 


A  Treatise  on-  Electricity.  153 

erysipelas  attacks  certain  parts  of  the  body  it  is  a  dan- 
gerous disease.  It  is  ushered  in  by  chill  and  fever.  The 
eruption  forms  into  small  blisters,  containing  a  yelloAV- 
ish  fluid,  and  the  burning  and  itching  will  at  times  be 
intense.  Electricity,  if  applied  to  these  vesicles  when 
the  itching  is  at  its  height,  will  immediately  relieve 
them,  and  is  a  certain  cure. 

I  treated  Mrs.  C.  for  phlegmonous  erysipelas  in  the 
face  and  head.  She  was  six  months  pregnane.  The 
disease  commenced  with  a  chill  lasting  five  hours.  The 
fever  was  light,  because  controlled  by  electrical  treat- 
ment. The  principal  cause  was  constipation.  I  gave 
general  treatment,  found  the  liver  congested,  and  bowels 
impacted  with  hard  faeces.  The  local  treatment  to  the 
bowels  and  liver  was  very  thorough,  following  this  with 
a  cathartic  and  such  homeopathic  remedies  as  were  indi- 
cated at  the  time.  It  took  five  days  to  get  the  bowels  to 
act.  The  discharges  were  very  copious  and  black  as  tar. 
Physic  and  enemas  were  needed,  beside  the  electrical 
treatment,  to  control  the  disease  and  save  her  life.  The 
second  chill  came  the  third  day,  and  lasted  three  hours, 
with  slight  fever.  If  I  had  not  in  this  case  thoroughly 
evacuated  the  impacted  bowels,  I  should  probably  have 
lost  her.  The  eruption  and  itching  were  controlled  by 
the  electrical  treatment  on  the  face  at  any  time  ^hen 
she  desired  to  allay  the  heat  and  stinging  pain.  She 
says,  "If  I  ever  have  erysipelas  again  I  will  have  elec- 
tricity if  it  is  to  be  had." 

HYDROPHOBIA. 

Having  had  no  personal  experience  in  treating  this 
disease  with  electricity,  I  cannot  determine  to  a  cer- 
tainty how  much  benefit  may  be  derived  from  it.  The 
recent  researches  of  Claud  Bernard  led  him  to  this  con- 
clusion, that  "the  virus  which  occasions  hydrophobia 
resides  only  in  the   animal's   saliva.      We   have  not  yet 


154  A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity. 

learned  whether  any  one  of  the  salivary  glands  is  its  pe- 
culiar seat,  or  whether  it  is  indifferently  secreted  by  all 
of  them.  No  experiments  have  been  made  on  this  point, 
but  it  has  been  experimentally  proved  that  the  peculiar 
venomous  principle  does  not  exist  in  the  blood;  trans- 
fusion does  not  convey  the  poison  from  a  mad  dog  to  a 
healthy  one."  If  the  above  is  a  fact,  it  must  be  con- 
ceded that  the  virua  is  transmitted  only  to  and  through 
the  nervous  system,  and  exclusively  localized  near  and 
in  the  salivary  glands,  constantly  secreting  a  viscid  sa- 
liva which  compels  constant  spitting.  The  spasmodic 
contractions  which  occur  whenever  drink  is  offered, 
would  lead  us  to  conclude  it  a  purely  nervous  condition, 
causing  an  irritation  of  the  whole  system  through  the 
sympathetic  nerves.  If  this  theory  is  correct,  we  have 
implicit  confidence  that  electricity,  combined  with  gal- 
vaijism,  would  control  this  disease,  if  the  application 
could  be  made  with  good  judgment  before  the  convul- 
sions and  spasmodic  tremors  so  affected  the  patient  that 
it  could  not  be  applied.  The  water  used,  and  the  motion 
caused  by  the  electric  action  seems  to  aggravate  the 
spasms,  and  if  not  given  in  the  early  stages  of  the  dis- 
ease it  is  useless  to  try  it. 

While  I  was  a  student  of  Dr.  A.,  who  made  electricity 
a  specialty,  he  was  called  to  treat  a  case  of  hydropho- 
bia with  it.  The  man  was  bitten  by  a  dog  six  years 
previous,  and  the  virus  had  been  latent  m  the  system 
all  that  time,  and  when  it  developed  it  progressed  so 
rapidly  and  the  spasms  were  so  violent  that  they  were 
aggravated  by  the  wet  sponges  when  trying  to  make  the 
application,  and  the  treatment  had  to  be  discontinued. 
After  the  man's  death  his  wife  was  taken  with  the  same 
symptoms,  whether  from  sympathy,  or  by  absorbing  the 
virus  from  washing  the  cloths  he  spit  upon,  or  from 
sexual  intercourse,  as  this  was  a  strongly  marked  symp- 
tom in  the  early  stages,  the  doctor  could  not  decide. 


A  Treatise  oit  Electbicity.  155 

There  is  an  important  question  in  this  case  for  study. 
Is  hydrophobia  a  disease  of  the  whole  glandular  system 
or  of  only  the  salivary  glands  ?  If  so  could  enough  of 
the  virus  from  the  semen  be  absorbed  by  the  uterine 
nerves  to  poison  the  whole  system  so  as  to  cause  hydro- 
phobia, or  could  the  virus  be  absorbed  while  washing 
the  cloths?  I  hope  some  one  may  have  an  opportunity 
of  investigating  with  electricity.  The  wife  was  cured 
by  it.  I  cannot  determine  in  my  investigation  of  the 
case  how  she  contracted  the  disease.  I  am  confident  that 
in  time  electricity  will  be  utilized,  and  its  use  so  perfect- 
ed that  every  blood  poison  will  be  cured  by  it,  let  it  be 
cancer,  hydrophobia  or  any  other. 

SMALL  POX  OR  VARIOLA. 

This  disease  is  too  well  known  to  need  a  minute  de- 
scription. It  is  divided  into  two  kinds,  distinct  and  con- 
fluent. The  latter  is  more  dangerous  than  the  former. 
To  treat  this  disease  successfully  with  electricity  it  is 
necessary  to  give  electrical  packs,  for  the  reason  that 
the  current  will  not  penetrate  through  the  pustules. 
What  we  desire  is  to  relieve  secondary  fever,  and  by  the 
allotropic  change  kill  the  virus,  and  absorb  it  with  the 
wet  sheet.  This  treatment  will  relieve  the  itching  and 
save  pitting.  The  face  can  be  treated  for  this  purpose 
in  the  same  manner  as  described  for  erysipelas. 

To  make  a  pack,  take  a  sheet  wet  in  hot  salt  water, 
and  place  warmed  woolen  blankets  on  the  bed,  under  the 
wet  sheet.  Lay  the  patient  down  as  quick  as  possible, 
naked,  after  adjusting  the  plate  attached  to  the  nega- 
tive current  between  the  woolen  blanket  and  wet  sheet. 
Wrap  up  warm,  putting  hot  bottles  to  the  feet,  with 
the  positive  current  at  the  same  place.  Let  the  current 
run  for  twenty  minutes,  if  possible  getting  them  into  a 
perspiration.  Afterwards  if  the  patient  is  warm  move 
the  current  at  the  feet  over  the   stomach  if  it  can  be 


156  A  Treatise  on"  Electricity. 

done  without  chilling.  Give  acid  drink  if  the  tongue  is 
red;  if  white,  alkaline.  Grape  juice  is  a  good  acid  to  use 
throughout  the  whole  sickness,  with  a  light  diet,  a  cool 
and  dark  room,  and  the  use  of  disinfectants  around  the 
patient.  This  treatment  is  more  successful  than  strong 
medication. 

SCROFULA. 

Scrofula  is  an  insidious  disease.  We  see  its  effects 
only  after  it  has  broken  down  cell  tissues,  except  that  in 
the  history  of  the  case  we  often  trace  hereditary  taints. 
All  scrofulous  sores  are  amenable  to  electricity  scientifi- 
cally administered.  Galvanism  will  change  and  cure 
a  chronic  ulcer  much  sooner  than  electricity  when  ap- 
plied locally.  But  this  method  may  not  be  permanent, 
and  there  is  danger  of  a  metastasis  of  the  disease.  The 
proper  way  is  to  give  general  treatment  and  local  with 
galvanism  or  electricity. 

I  treated  a  little  girl  with  eleven  indolent  ulcers  on 
one  leg,  and  covering  the  limb  from  the  hip  to  the 
foot.  Her  age  was  seven,  and  she  had  been  sick  for 
three  years.  She  was  so  thin  in  flesh  we  could  almost 
see  through  her  hands.  A  continued  surgical  treat- 
ment had  so  affected  her  nervous  system  that  she  would 
scream  every  time  the  door  bell  rang,  thinking  some 
doctor  was  coming.  She  was  very  much  frightened 
when  I  first  commenced  treating  her,  but  I  told  her  if 
I  hurt  her  the  least  bit  I  would  let  her  go  home,  and 
then  she  consented  to  try  it.  She  liked  the  treatment 
and  there  was  no  further  trouble.  After  about  six  ap- 
plications the  mother  said,  "  The  sores  are  growing 
worse,  but  she  is  better  every  other  way,  her  appetite 
especially."  The  ulcers  were  arousing  to  a  healthy  in- 
flammatory condition,  they  were  sloughing  more  at 
their  base,  and  we  soon  began  to  see  the  line  of  de- 
markation  on  each  one.    Healthy   granulations  were 


I 


A  Treatise  oif  Electricity.  157 

soon  forming,  and  all  without  any  medicines  except 
Cosmoline  dressing  Twenty  treatments  permanently 
cured  her.  I  gave  general  treatment,  and  local  by  wind- 
ing a  wet  towel  around  her  leg,  with  the  current  applied 
with  the  plate. 

ASPHYXIA. 

In  asphyxia  from  drowning,  or  suffocation  from  poi- 
sonous gases,  or  in  asphyxia  of  new-born  infants,  the 
electrical  current  should  be  placed  in  such  a  position  as 
to  excite  artificial  respiration.  Place  the  positive  cur- 
rent on  the  spine,  attached  to  a  small  plate,  long  enough 
to  cover  all  the  cervical  and  a  part  of  the  dorsal  nerves. 
For  a  few  minutes  apply  the  negative  with  large  plate 
(both  covered  with  cloths  wet  in  salt  water,)  over  the 
phrenic  nerve,  letting  the  plate  cover  the  upper  part  of 
the  lung  and  heart,  giving  a  slight  shock  every  twenty 
seconds.  Then  remove  the  plate  over  lung  to  the  solar 
plexus,  under  the  left  breast,  allowing  the  plate  to  con- 
trol both  the  stomach  and  diaphragm,  giving  slight 
shocks  here  also;  making  pressure  on  the  abdomen  at  in- 
tervals with  the  hand.  Holding  up  the  arms  also  facili- 
tates natural  respiration.  As  recovery  becomes  certain 
reduce  the  strength  of  the  current,  and  all  other  me- 
chanical means,  and  wrap  up  the  patient  warm,  leaving 
a  light  current  running  until  considerable  strength  is 
attained,  and  the  nervous  system  quieted.  Many  lives 
might  be  saved  if  the  above  application  could  be  thor- 
oughly studied  and  practically  applied,  as  we  hope  in 
time  it  may  be. 

TOXICUM    OR    BLOOD   POISON. 

Toxemia  from  mercurial  poisons  can  with  a  cer- 
tainty be  eradicated  from  the  system  by  electro-thermal 
baths  and  general  faradization.  The  rectum  should  be 
treated  because  it  seems  to  locate  near  the  sigmoid  flex- 
ure and  is  the  cause  of  many  strictures  in  that  part   of 


158  A  Treatise  0:1^  Electricity. 

the  bowels;  as  I  said  before,  mercury,  being  a  metal, 
has  an  affinity  for  metal  and  will  be  deposited  on  the 
silver  electrode  that  is  introduced  into  the  rectum. 
The  vagina  electrode  should  be  the  one  used  because  it 
will  reach  the  sigmoid  flexure,  and  diffuses  the  current 
more,  making  the  treatment  less  disagreeable. 

TOXEMIA     FROM     THE    P0IS0]!«"0US     EFFECTS   OF    TOBACCO. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  common  diseases  among  men, 
and  not  one  in  a  thousand  that  suffer  every  day  from 
the  poison  of  tannic  acid  ever  gives  tobacco  the  credit 
for  numerous  bad  feelings.  Men  die  every  day  from 
paralysis  of  the  muscles  of  the  heart,  caused  by  tobacco, 
but  because  the  post  mortem  does  not  reveal  tobacco  in 
the  form  of  a  leaf,  doctors  look  wise  and  say  ''Died  of 
heart  disease."  When  will  men  learn  wisdom  ?  "  Know 
thyself"  is  a  good  maxim.  It  is  of  no  use  to  give  elec- 
tricity for  diseases  caused  by  tobacco,  unless  the  habit  is 
stopped.  Men  are  said  to  be  stronger  than  women,  but 
few  of  them  are  strong  enough  to  conquer  their  per- 
verted appetites.  If  the  habit  is  stopped  this  poison  can 
be  very  soon  thrown  from  the  system,  and  the  health 
restored  if  electrical  treatment  is  resorted  to. 

SPIDER  AN^D  SN"AKE  BITES. 

The  symptoms  attending  bites  of  venomous  reptiles 
are  such  as  not  to  be  easily  mistaken.  Swelling  com- 
mences in  the  part  bitten,  and  extends  rapidly  over  the 
whole  body,  attended  with  nausea  and  vomiting.  If 
electrical  treatments  could  be  given  before  the, constitu- 
tional symptoms  were  developed,  only  local  treatment 
would  be  necesssary. 

The  first  case  of  spider  bite  I  treated  was  a  servant  of 
Mrs.  Belva  Lockwood,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  The  girl's 
arm  was  very  much  swollen  and  streaks  of  red  followed 
every  vein  to  the  shoulder.       I  wrapped  the   arm  and 


A  Treatise  on^  Electricity.  159 

hand  up  in  a  wet  towel,  putting  the  negative  current  in 
the  hand,  the  positive  on  the  back  of  the  neck  to  the 
cervical  nerves.  After  treating  about  an  hour  the  veins 
had  assumed  their  normal  color.  Two  such  local  treat- 
ments perfectly  eliminated  all  the  poisonous  effect. 
Every  case  I  have  since  treated  has  been  attended  with 
the  same  good  results. 

SALT   RHEUM. 

This  disease  is  only  the  expression  of  a  scrofulous 
disease  or  eruption.  The  only  safe  treatment  is  to 
eradicate  it  from  the  system  by  a  chemical  change  of  the 
blood,  and  by  building  up  the  system.  In  cases  cured 
by  me  1  have  discovered  a  sluggish  stomach  and  imper- 
fect digestion.  It  is  stubborn  but  electricity  will  cure 
it  if  enough  treatments  are  given. 

POISOlf  FROM  IVY  OR  RHUS. 

Electricity  will,  by  producing  the  chemical  change 
necessary,  neutralize  this  and  all  vegetable  poisons,  and 
permanently  relieve  the  system  of  all  its  bad  effects.  I 
have  cured  both  the  acute  and  chronic  affections  caused 
by  Rhus  Tox.,  by  giving  general  electrical  treatment. 

ARSENIC,    STRYCHi^IKE,  MERCURY,   OPIUM,   CAN^THARIDES 

ETC. 

The  proper  way  of  using  electricity  for  the  treatment 
of  persons  who  have  been  recently  poisoned  with  any  of 
the  above,  is  to  arouse  the  vital  forces  by  general  treat- 
ment and  then  give  antidotes.  The  cases  are  more  cer- 
tain to  be  cured,  and  less  exertion  is  necessary,  than 
when  the  patient  is  walked,  as  is  customary.  By  giving 
spinal  treatment  the  system  can  be  aroused  in  one-half 
the  time  occupied  by  any  other  mode.  As  soon  as  this 
is  accomplished  the  antidotes  will  readily  respond. 
Treat  as  described  for  asphyxia. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN. 

Cutaneous  diseases  are  largely  the  result  of  a  constitu- 
tional condition,  and  must,  if  successfully  treated,  have 
general  faradization.  We  have  often  cured  eruptions  on 
the  face  caused  by  indigestion.  In  these  cases  the 
tongue  looks  more  like  a  grater  than  anything  else  and 
is  rough  and  dry,  showing  a  chronic  condition  of  the 
stomach  that  would  require  a  great  number  of  treat- 
ments to  arouse  the  vital  action  of  the  digestive  organs. 
As  soon  as  digestion  is  normal  the  eruption  will  dis- 
appear. I  generally  give  what  is  termed  beauty  treat- 
ment to  the  face,  if  there  are  pimples  there,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  general  treatment.  Constipation  causes 
many  skin  diseases.  Take  sponge  electrical  baths,  using 
both  vinegar  and  salt  in  the  water;  a  vapor  bath  of 
vinegar,  if  possible,  is  the  best,  using  the  electricity  in 
the  bath.  This  is  called  electro-vapor  bath.  I  some- 
times order  a  quart  of  vinegar  and  cup  of  salt  and  full 
bath,  if  the  patient  has  a  bath  tub  in  the  house.  This  is 
excellent  for  a  dry  condition  of  the  skin  where  it  rubs  up 
like  flour.  There  is  a  want  of  acid  in  the  skin.  Hand 
baths  of  vinegar  are  better  than  none,  if  the  others  are 
not  available. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

PTJBMIA    AND    REMARKS   ON^    PRESIDENT    GARFIELD's 

SICKNESS. 

"The  symptoms  which  denote  the  existence  of  pyaemia 
are  chills,  occurring  with  no  marked  regularity,  fol- 
lowed by  profuse  perspiration  and  great  and  increasing 
prostration,  nausea,  vomiting,  delirium,  a  bronzed  or 
yellowish  color  of  the  skin,  and  a  peculiar  sweet  mawk- 
ish odor  of  the  breath,  compared  sometimes  to  the  odor 
of  treacle.  This  latter  symptom  has  been  considered 
especially  diagnostic,  but  I  have  observed  that  it  is  often 
absent  in  well  marked  examples  of  pyaemia,  and  that  it 
is  occasionally  present  where  pyaemia  does  not  exist  in 
conditions  of  extreme  exhaustion  from  anaemia.  The 
specific  cause  and  the  precise  pathological  character  of 
pyaemia  are  not  fully  determined.  There  is  much  prob- 
ability, however,  that  it  is  a  variety  of  septicalmea,  and 
that  it  is  induced  by  the  reception  into  the  system  of 
the  suppurating  deposits  of  certain  septic  elements,  or 
elements  which  have  undergone  a  gangrenous  or  possi- 
bly only  a  suppurating  degeneration." — Hamilton's 
Surgery, 

I  have  never  treated  pyaemia  with  electricity,  but 
knowing  the  value  of  the  allotropic  action  of  this  agent 
I  have  been  anxious  ever  since  the  death  of  President 
Garfield  to  have  an  opportunity  of  testing  it  in  cases  of 
pyaemia.  If  it  will  neutralize  all  other  poisons  why  not 
this  too.  It  will  change  all  morbid  matter  in  ulcers, 
scrofula,  mineral  poisons,  etc.  Dr.  Hamilton  says  "It  is 
not  known  to  a  certainty  what  the  cause  is"  of  pyaemia. 
In  following  up  the  bulletins  of  Garfield's  sickness  we 

11  161 


162  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  incision  into  the  pus 
cavity  caused  the  pj^semia  by  the  absorption  of  septic 
poison,  and  by  the  depleting  effects  of  the  enemas  and 
anodynes  he  did  not  have  the  strength  to  overcome  the 
septic  poisons. 

With  the  actual  knowledge  of  the  power  of  electricity 
as  a  diagnostic,  I  am  certain  if  it  had  been  applied  scien- 
tifically it  would  have  located  the  ball,  while  the  illness 
was  in  the  inflammatory  stage  arising  from  the  effects  ot 
the  ball.  I  do  not  think  a  metal  in  the  body  could  at- 
tract a  magnet  outside,  unless  it  was  a  strong  magnet, 
for  the  reason  that  nerve  centers  have  stronger  magnet- 
ic properties  and  the  magnet  would  be  attracted  towards 
some  nerve  center  instead  of  toward  the  ball ;  but  by 
passing  the  sponge  as  described  in  chapter  on  diagnosing 
it  would  have  detected  the  spinal  injury,  and  the  nerves 
would  have  been  sensitive  throughout  the  whole  track 
of  the  ball,  and  in  that  manner  located  it. 

I  hope  this  subject  will  be  further  investigated  by 
scientists  whose  opportunities  in  hospitals  and  other 
prominent  positions  will  allow  them  to  continue  this 
interesting  subject. 


CHAPTER    XVIIL 

EXTRACTION^  OF  FOREIGiT  BODIES  BY  THE  ELECTRO-MAGNET. 

Dr.  Delare  has  suggested  the  electro-magnet  as  a 
means  of  extracting  foreign  bodies  from  the  eye,  urethra, 
ear,  etc.  He  states  that  it  has  been  used  for  the  purpose 
of  extracting  pieces  of  iron  and  steel  from  the  eye  since 
the  days  of  Fabrice  de  Hildeu.  Delare  had  his  atten- 
tion called  to  the  subject  by  an  attempt  which  he  made 
to  extract  a  piece  of  a  pin  from  the  external  auditory 
canal.  A  slender  magnet  was  prepared  by  M.  Fasse, 
which  could  be  beat  at  will,  but  it  was  found  to  be  with- 
out sufficient  power.  Then  M.  Fasse  suggested  the  idea 
of  the  electro-magnet  for  this  purpose.  The  advantage 
claimed  for  this  method  of  extracting  foreign  bodies  is 
that  it  produces  no  sensation  on  the  surface  of  the  tis- 
sues, and  is  less  liable  to  injure  them  than  the  forceps  or 
probe."* 

In  this  connection  I  will  say  that  by  taking  the 
eye  cup  and  filling  it  full  of  salt  water  and  attaching 
the  negative  current  to  it,  and  tying  the  positive  cur- 
rent on  the  back  of  the  neck  and  applying  the  eye  cup 
to  the  eye,  the  electricity  will  attract  the  foreign  sub- 
stances into  the  wat-er,  no  matter  of  what  nature.  Keep 
the  eye  open  as  much  as  possible  while  the  application 
is  being  made  and  it  will  only  take  a  few  minutes  to 
extract  the  substance  and  quiet  the  irritation. 

♦Translated  from  Lyon  Medicale  in  "New  York  Medical  Gazette," 

Aug.  20,  1870. 

163 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

BATHS. 

We  have  one  serious  drawback  in  the  use  of  mineral 
baths  and  other  kinds  of  water  treatment.  While  the 
patient  is  under  treatment  and  for  a  time  afterwards, 
he  seems  benej&ted,  because  the  baths  have  opened  the 
pores  of  the  skin  and  have  cleansed  the  clogged  mus- 
cles of  their  impurities  that  had  caused  his  suffering. 
Perhaps  he  had  been  troubled  with  rheumatism,  but 
now  it  has  gone  and  he  is  a  new  man  in  feeling,  and 
goes  home  and  tells  his  neighbors  he  was  cured  at  So- 
and-So's  springs  or  water-cure,  as  the  case  may  be.  But 
wait  awhile;  as  soon  as  the  liver  or  kidneys,  or  what- 
ever may  have  caused  the  rheumatism,  can  deposit  the 
poison  in  those  muscles,  he  will  say  "I  feel  my  trouble 
again,  I  must  go  back  and  be  cured."  Had  the  water 
treatment  reached  his  liver,  kidneys  or  the  cause  of  his 
disease,  as  it  reached  and  eradicated  the  trouble  for  the 
time  being,  he  would  have  been  cured. 

We  have  used  baths  of  all  kinds  for  years  and  derived 
much  benefit  from  them  in  connection  with  electrical 
treatment.  Electricity  starts  the  secretions  of  the  vari- 
ous glands,  arouses  the  organs  to  throw  off  their  slug- 
gishness, and  then,  with  the  baths  and  mild  cathartics, 
carries  off  out  of  the  system  the  impurities  that  would 
settle  in  the  muscles  or  on  the  nerves.  With  my  treat- 
ment patients  improve  after  going  away  and  continue  to 
do  so  even  faster  than  while  under  treatment.  Why  ? 
Because  the  rubbish  has  been  cleared  away  from  the 
drain  and  the  backed  up  material  has  a  free  outlet  and 
will  rush  through,  until  only  the  normal   amount  re- 

164 


A  Treatise  oni  Electricity.  165 

mains  behind.  So  we  find  it  necessary  to  understand 
all  treatments,  to  examine  the  case  thoroughly  and 
from  the  many  modes  choose  the  best  and  leave  that 
which  is  of  no  benefit.  No  matter  if  the  anchor  sheet 
of  tonics,  quinine,  is  cast  one  side,  providing  we  know 
that  electricity  is  a  better  tonic  and  stimulant  and  leaves 
no  ill  effects. 

CONTALESCENCE. 

Electrical  treatment  acts  like  a  charm,  for  the  reason 
when  there  is  a  lack  of  vitality  it  is  supplied  by  the 
tonic  action  of  this  remedy,  the  most  agreeable  results 
immediately  following  its  application,  especially  in  the 
case  of  weak  and  debilitated  children.  I  had  been 
treating  a  little  boy  whose  appetite  was  poor,  who  was 
thin  in  flesh,  and  blood,  but  with  no  particular 
disease  noticeable  except  debility.  After  giving  him 
eight  treatments  (I  had  designed  giving  him  ten)  I  met 
him  on  the  street  playing.  I  said  to  him,  ''Eddie,  why 
don't  you  come  for  more  electricity?"  He  replied,  "My 
Pa  says  I  must  not  take  any  more.  He  can't  get  money 
to  buy  me  enough  to  eat."  After  the  vital  action  of 
the  stomach  is  aroused  Dame  Nature  will  finish,  and 
after  she  takes  it  into  her  hands  the  patient  is  lost  to  us 
and  we  resign  such  cases  with  pleasure. 

IMPROVISED     INSTRUMENTS. 

Sometimes  in  the  absence  of  instruments  we  impro* 
vise  one  for  the  treatment  of  hemorrhoids  and  uterine 
troubles.  Take  a  copper  wire  16  inches  long,  double  in 
the  middle  and  twist,  leaving  a  loop  for  the  reception 
of  a  sponge  or  piece  of  cloth.  A  rubber  tube  passed 
over  the  wire  will  insulate  it,  and  it  can  be  hooked  to 
the  cord  from  the  machine.  For  piles  take  a  copper 
wire  about  three  inches  long,  enclose  it  in  a  rubber  tube 
two  inches  long,  (a  piece  of  rubber  tubing  from  an  old 


166  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

syringe  will  answer,  just  enough  to  insulate  the  wire,) 
and  bend  it  at  both  ends.  Tie  a  small  sponge  on  one 
loop  and  bend  the  other  end  in  the  form  of  a  hook  to 
attach  to  the  battery  cord  from  positive  post.  Insert 
this  wire  about  an  inch  above  the  anus  to  the  hemor- 
rhoids. This  will  remove  inflammation  while  giving  the 
general  treatment  with  the  negative  current.  In  treat- 
ing inflamed  urethra  take  a  tape  needle,  wind  it  with 
fine  linen,  oil  the  linen  and  thread  the  needle  with  fine 
wire  and  attach  the  wire  to  the  cord,  sometimes  using 
the  negative  above  and  around  the  other,  while  the 
vagina  electrode  is  used.  For  males  use  a  silver  cathe« 
ter,  if  no  other  instrument  is  available. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Head  and  Throat  Diseases. 

CATAKRH. 

There  is  no  affection  except  consumption,  that  more 
effectually  obstructs  the  action  of  respiration  than  ca- 
tarrh. This  disease  affects  the  air  passages  of  the  head? 
larynx  and  bronchial  tubes.  It  causes  the  blood  to  be- 
come impure  because  the  obstructions  will  not  allow 
enough  oxygen  to  enter  the  lun^s  to  purify  the  blood 
for  vitalizing  the  system.  The  throat  is  more  or  less  in- 
volved. Consumption  and  other  diseases  often  result 
from  catarrh.  It  seems  to  be  a  stubborn  disease  to  cure 
with  medicine,  but  not  so  with  electricity.  If  very 
chronic  it  takes  a  number  of  treatments. 

For  treating  this  disease  the  local  stimulation  must 
be  through  all  the  nerves  over  and  around  the  eyes,  and 
each  side  of  the  nose,  and  all  sore  nerves  should  be 
treated  with  the  negative  current.  Use  the  positive 
with  tongue  instrument  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
and  up  in  the  nose,  because  that  is  a  mucous  mem- 
brane. In  using  the  douche  fill  it  with  salt  water  first 
and  run  fine  wire  into  it  through  the  rubber  tube. 
Tie  a  small  sponge  onto  the  wire  that  comes  out  of  the 
tube  that  is  inserted  in  the  nostril;  attach  this  wire  to 
the  negative  current,  leaving  the  positive  on  back  of 
the  neck  or  near  the  spine.  The  current  will  be  felt  as 
the  water  passes  into  the  nose.  Then  fill  the  douche 
with  some  mild  astringent  and  use  the  same  way. 
Colds,  acute  catarrh,  are  also  cured  in  this  manner. 

167 


168  A  Tkeatise  oj^  Electricity. 

GOITRE   OR   BROKCHOCELE. 

This  disease  is  an  enlargement  of  the  thyroid  gland. 
It  is  not  dangerous  but  very  troublesome,  and  affects 
the  pride  because  of  its  ungainly  appearance.  Electri- 
city will  remove  the  enlargement  if  the  treatment  is 
persevered  in.  Salt  water  should  be  used  to  pack  the 
throat  at  night  and  wet  the  sponges  in  when  treating. 
To  save  time  tie  the  positive  current  on  the  back  of  the 
neck,  the  negative  current  over  the  enlarged  gland  and 
let  it  run  as  long  as  convenient,  giving  the  patient 
something  to  read  so  as  to  amuse  him  and  save  the  phy- 
sician's time. 

QUIl^SY  AND  OTHER  ACUTE  THROAT  DISEASES. 

Quinsy  is  a  disease  of  the  tonsils  and  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  throat.  Having  been  troubled  with  this 
disease  all  through  my  early  life,  I  am  happy  to  say  that 
electricity  is  a  specific  in  preventing  its  termination  in 
resolution  if  treated  in  time.  If  suppuration  has  pro- 
gressed too  far  it  cannot  be  discussed,  but  treating  it  with 
electricity  will  hasten  suppuration. 

The  disease  should  be  treated  as  soon  as  swallowing 
causes  pains  in  the  ear.  For  local  treatment  tie  the 
positive  current  on  the  back  of  the  neck  and  attach  the 
negative  to  the  ear  instrument;  if  you  have  none  take  a 
small  wire  and  wind  it  with  wet  cloth  and  treat  inside 
the  ear.  Find  the  sore  nerve  that  hurts  in  swallowing, 
it  will  pain  at  first,  but  in  a  short  time  the  soreness  will 
be  nearly  or  quite  gone  ;  then  treat  all  around  the  ear, 
externally.  Two  such  treatments  will  absorb  the  in- 
flammation, and  obviate  the  whole  difficulty.  The 
writer  is  obliged  to  treat  quinsy  in  this  manner  two  or 
three  times  every  winter. 

Sore  throats  from  colds  can  be  controlled  in  the  same 
manner,  and  colds  in  the  head  by  treating  in  the  throat 


A  Treatise  ok  Electricity.  169 

and  over  the  nose.  The  electrical  treatment  arouses 
the  vital  action  of  the  mucous  membrane.  If  it  draws 
the  soreness  to  the  lungs,  follow  it  up.  I  have  followed 
up  a  severe  cold  in  this  manner  until  it  would  be  felt  in 
the  limbs  ;  then  by  treating  down  to  the  feet  it  would 
be  the  last  of  it.  This  is  strange,  but  experience  is  a 
good  teacher. 

congestive  headache. 

This  condition  is  caused  by  imperfect  circulation. 
Give  general  treatment.  The  extremities  must  be 
treated  each  time  by  putting  the  feet  in  hot  water,  with 
the  positive  current  in  the  water  or  the  plate  to  the  feet. 
Give  head  treatment  also  by  applying  the  negative  cur- 
rent to  the  base  of  the  brain  while  the  positive  current 
is  on  the  spine  lower  down.  Treat  over  the  eyes  and 
around  the  ears.  Be  careful  of  diet  and  give  some  mild 
cathartic  if  the  patient  is  constipated.  Sick  headache  is 
cured  by  treating  the  digestive  organs. 

toothache. 

It  is  in  the  cure  of  this  trouble  that  we  see  the  imme- 
diate benefit  of  electricity.  Apply  the  negative  current 
in  such  manner  as  to  let  it  run  into  the  sore  nerve  lead- 
ing into  the  diseased  tooth,  and  positive  current  on  the 
back  of  the  neck.  If  allowed  to  remain  an  hour  it  will 
remove  all  the  inflammation,  and  it  may  not  be  heard 
from  again  for  months  or  years,  for  the  reason  the  ulcer- 
ation at  the  root  of  the  tooth  has  been  absorbed.  If  the 
treatment  is  given  only  a  few  minutes  it  will  be  liable  to 
arouse  and  cause  more  pain.  Even  then  it  will  be  of 
shorter  duration.  If  teeth  are  sensitive  to  the  cold 
treat  the  nerves  of  the  face  that  lead  to  the  teeth  and 
strengthen  them,  especially  the  nerve  center  of  the 
fifth  pair  over  the  ear,  where  all  the  nerves  of  the  teeth 
arise.     While  the  current  is  on   the  nerves,  let  it  be 


170  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


neuralgia  or  simple  toothache,  it  quiets  the  pain.    Many 
of  my  patients  go  to  bed  at  night  with  electricity   ap-     J 
plied  to  the  painful  nerves,  go  to  sleep   and  wake  up     1 
without  pain. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


NEUKALGIA. 


Neuralgia  is  a  disease  of  the  nerves,  and  may  effect 
any  nerve  in  the  human  body.  It  is  characterized  by 
darting  pains,  recurring  at  intervals.  The  nerves  are 
inflamed  by  effete  matters  from  the  blood  settling  upon 
them,  clogging  them  up,  making  it  difficult  for  the 
passage  of  nerve  or  electric  force.  The  origin  of  the  im- 
purities may  be  from  mineral  poisons  given  for  medi- 
cine, or  from  indigestion,  constipation,  etc.  Nature, 
ever  ready  to  expel  functional  invasions,  makes  a  greater 
effort  to  propel  its  nervous  forces  along  these  blocked  up 
roads,  and  that  effort  causes  the  shooting  pains,  as  every 
thing,  such  as  wind,  heat,  cold,  vrater  or  electricity  trav- 
els in  wave  motion.  Neuralgia  is  worse  in  sudden 
changes  of  the  weather,  because  the  electrical  radiation 
of  effete  matters  is  suddenly  checked  by  the  closing  of 
the  pores  of  the  skin,  from  the  positive  electric  action  of 
cold,  leaving  the  system  in  a  negative  condition  until  it 
can  gather  power  to  regain  an  equilibrium.  If  this 
equilibrium  cannot  be  restored  because  of  general  debili- 
ty, or  an  excess  of  carbon  in  the  system,  as  in  plethoric 
persons,  then  neuralgia  or  rheumatism  is  the  result. 
Quinine  in  large  doses  should  not  be  taken  for  neural- 
gia; the  diseased  nerves  are  on  a  strain  and  may  be 
paralyzed  by  its  use.  This  paralysis  may  not  continue 
but  the  nerves  are  liable  to  be  permanently  injured,  as  I 
have  found  in  man}'  cases  which  I  have  treated. 

Electricity  will  take  the  place  of  nerve  force,  and 
being  stronger  its  action  will  disorganize  the  effete  mat- 
ter by  its  chemical  action,  and  drive  it  back  into  the 

171 


172  A  Treatise  oif  Electeicity. 

blood,  relieving  the  diseased  nerves  in  a  few  minutes. 
The  case,  however,  is  not  cured,  when  this  is  accom- 
plished; the  neuralgia  is  better,  but  that  is  not  a  disease, 
it  is  only  an  expression  of  a  cause  that  is  still  there,  only 
to  give  the  same  trouble  as  soon  as  a  slight  cold  or  over 
fatigue  of  the  still  weak  nerves,  causes  the  effete  matter, 
to  collect  again.  To  make  the  cure  permanent  the 
blood  must  be  purified  by  general  electrical  treatment, 
the  same  as  for  fevers  or  any  blood  poisons. 

Neuralgia  in  all  its  different  expressions,  in  different 
parts  of  the  body,  will  yield  in  every  instance,  if  the 
nerves  diseased  are  locally  treated.  No  one  need  suffer 
one  hour  with  this  painful  disease,  if  they  will  use  the 
currents  as  I  dictate  in  this  work,  the  A  B,  with  salt  in 
the  water.  The  salt  has  much  to  do  with  the  chemical 
change.  This  is  the  remedy;  electricity  is  the  power  be-, 
hind  to  help  the  good  work  along.  In  all  cases  of  neu- 
ralgia the  nerves  diseased  are  very  sensitive  to  the  cur- 
rent, and  when  treating  in  that  vicinity  if  you  strike  a 
nerve  that  gives  pain  that  is  the  one  to  treat.  Of  course 
the  current  must  be  very  light  at  first,  but  it  will  be 
seen  that  as  the  impurities  are  thrown  back  the  nerve 
will  bear  a  stronger  current.  The  treatment  must  be 
kept  up  until  the  current  is  transmitted  through  the 
nerve,  and  it  is  relieved. 

UTERINE    CRAMPS  OR  NEURALGIA. 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  was  a  great  sufferer  for  live  years 
with  cramp  of  the  uterus.  The  pain  was  so  great  at  times 
that  my  moans  could  be  heard  two  blocks.  I  tried  many 
physicians  but  with  no  relief.  I  visited  a  water  cure  for  one 
year,  but  with  little  effect.  I  at  last  was  induced  to  try 
Dr.  S.  E.  Morrill  with  electricity,  and  after  twenty 
treatments  I  was  well ;  in  three  months  my  health  was  com- 
plete, and  I  had  gained  twenty-six  pounds.  I  clieerfuUy 
recommend  the  Doctor  to  all  who  may  be  so  afflicted.  It  is 
now  three  years  since  I  was  cured. 

Miss  Frank  London, 
Massillon,  Ohio. 


A  Treatise  o]sr  Electricity.  173 

TIC   DOULOUREUX. 

Tic  douloreux  or  facial  neuralgia  is  one  of  tlie  most 
painful  afflictions  to  which  the  human  body  is  liable. 
Its  cause  is  inflammation  of  the  branches  from  the  fifth 
pair  of  nerves  inosculating  with  the  seventh ;  the  fifth 
being  a  nerve  of  sensation,  and  the  seventh  a  nerve  of 
motion.  The  motion  of  the  latter,  in  conjunction  with 
the  sensitive  nerves  of  the  former,  make  a  twitching 
which  is  exceedingly  painful^  This  seventh  nerve  is 
sometimes  severed  in  order  to  cure  this  disease,  but 
many  physicians  are  disappointed  in  their  want  of  suc- 
cess. They  are  probably  not  as  well  posted  in  the  path- 
ology of  the  disease  as  in  the  use  of  the  knife;  forgetting 
that  the  fifth  is  en  rapport  with  the  seventh  and  is  still 
inflamed.  When  the  seventh  nerve  is  severed  it  causes 
paralysis  and  deformity  of  that  side  of  the  face  and  is  a 
condemned  practice  in  surgery.  It  were  better  for  the 
surgeon  to  study  electro-therapeutics  and  be  convinced 
how  simple  and  certain  the  cure  of  this  and  other  in- 
flammatory diseases  is  made. 

As  soon  as  the  A  B  current  is  applied  very  weak  the 
benefit  is  noticeable.  For  local  application  tie  on  the 
back  of  the  neck  the  A,  positive  current,  then  take  a 
small  sponge  or  cloth  wet  in  warm  salt  water  and  apply 
it  under  the  ear  to  the  seventh  pair  of  nerves.  This  will 
bear  a  stronger  current,  not  being  a  nerve  of  sensation. 
If  possible  have  the  current  strong  enough  to  jerk  the 
whole  side  of  the  face  or  a  light  twitching  will  be  no- 
ticed through  that  side  of  the  face,  that  will  dislodge  the 
inflamed  particles  and  relieve  the  branches  of  the  fifth 
pair,  so  that  the  current  can  be  borne  on  these  nerves. 
Then  take  a  small  cloth  about  ten  inches  square,  double 
it  all  over  that  side  of  the  face,  then  attach  to  the  plate 
the  same  negative  or  B  current.  Place  carefully,  or  let 
the  patients  arrange  it  themselves,  as  they  can  bear  it, 


174  A  Treatise  oi^  Electricity. 

if  the  nerves  are  very  sore..  In  the  course  of  a  half  hour 
the  inflammation  will  be  nearly  relieved,  but  it  is  better 
to  treat  an  hour,  and  if  the  soreness  is  not  all  gone, 
treat  again  next  day  or  in  two  or  three  hours.  There 
is  no  harm  done  if  inflammatory  diseases  are  treated  for 
hours  at  a  time.  Electricity  in  this  form  and  manner 
of  using  is  certain  to  cure  as  the  sun  is  to  rise  in  the 
morning. 

RHEUMATISM  OR  NEURALGIA  1^    THE  ARMS,  SHOULDERS 
AND   N'ECK. 

Symptoms  of  this  class  all  originate  from  digestive  or 
liver  difficulties  and  can  only  be  relieved  by  general 
and  local  treatment  to  make  the  cure  permanent.  I 
have  often  treated  the  arms  and  shoulders  locally  to 
please  the  patients,  and  because  the  cost  is  less  than  for 
general  treatment.  I  tell  them  the  general  would  be 
the  cheapest  in  the  end,  but  they  insist  upon  it.  I  have 
yet  to  see  any  permanent  benefit  from  it.  Some  relief 
is  felt,  but  give  three  thorough  general  treatments,  a 
cathartic,  and  the  fourth  day  a  vapor  or  electrical  bath, 
and  the  patient  is  nearly  if  not  entirely  cured  of  all  pains 
in  the  arms  and  shoulders  even  if  they  w,ere  not  touch- 
ed locally. 

LUMBAGO. 

Lumbago  or  crick  in  the  back  is  a  disease  of  the  lum- 
bar nerves,  caused  by  some  kidney  difficulty.  To  relieve 
this  condition  quickly,  place  two  plates  one  over  each 
kidney,  having  the  plates  large  enough  to  cover  all  the 
muscles  in  that  region,  and  at  the  same  time  have  the 
kidneys  come  under  the  electrical  action.  Be  careful 
that  the  plates  do  not  touch  each  other,  but  place  them 
as  near  the  spinal  nerves  as  possible  without  touching. 
I  have  relieved  patients  in  twenty  minutes  who  could 
not  stand  straight  when  they  commenced.     They  could 


A  Treatise  o:s  Electricity.  175 

go  to  their  business  for  the  day,  taking  another  treat- 
ment in  the  evening  or  morning  to  finish  the  cure.  It 
is  better,  if  they  can  be  held,  to  give  ten  or  fifteen  treat- 
ments, they  will  then  have  no  return  of  the  disease. 

SCIATICA. 

Sciatica  is  neuralgia  of  the  nerves  located  in  the  hips. 
It  arises  from  the  sacral  plexus  which  is  formed  by  the 
lower  lumbar  and  upper  sacral  nerves  of  the  spine. 
From  this  plexus  branches  the  greater  and  lesser  sciatic 
nerves.  The  latter  supplies  the  integument  of  the 
perineum  and  is  often  involved  when  the  greater  is  dis- 
eased, as  can  be  noticed  when  the  electrical  current  is 
applied  for  sciatica.  The  greater  sciatic  nerve  supplies 
nearly  the  whole  integument  of  the  leg  and  the  pain 
often  felt  as  far  as  the  foot.  It  is  the  largest  nerve  cord 
in  the  body,  measuring  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in 
breadth,  and  passes  out  of  the  pelvis  through  the  great 
sacra-sciatic  foramen,  it  is  a  nerve  of  sensation  and 
inosculates  with  other  nerves  of  motion  causing  often- 
times jerking  and  pain  in  the  whole  limb. 

On  account  of  the  anatomical  position  of  this  nerve, 
if  the  case  is  chronic  the  treatment,  to  permanently 
cure,  must  be  thorough.  Acute  sciatica  can  be  cured  or 
relieved  with  three  local  treatments.  For  local  appli- 
cation take  two  plates,  and  apply  each  side  of  the  spine 
at  the  origin  of  the  nerve  and  at  the  same  time  at  the 
hips  below  the  kidneys,  not  letting  the  plates  touch  each 
other;  let  the  patient  lie  on  his  back  (if  you  have  no 
treating  chair  a  lounge  will  do).  It  does  not  make  any 
particular  difference  which  current  is  used  when  the 
currents  are  so  close  together,  but  I  generally  put  the 
negative  current  on  the  diseased  side,  and  after  it  has 
run  about  ten  minutes  and  apply  it  up  and  down  on 
the  spinal  nerves  in  the  sacral  region,  bringing  the  plate 
that  is  attached  to  positive  electrode  over  the  painful 


176  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

nerve  down  the  limb  or  over  the  faramen   where  it   has 
its  exit  from  the  pelvis. 

If  the  disease  is  chronic  and  the  patient  a  lady  the 
positive  current  can  with  benefit  be  applied  in  the  va- 
gina; if  a  gentleman,  in  the  rectum,  and  the  negative 
current  over  the  same  exit  from  the  pelvis.  By  this 
mode  of  application  the  inflammation  of  the  nerve 
that  is  inside  the  pelvis  will  be  reached  and  much  sooner 
relieved.  After  the  above  treatment  the  positive  cur- 
rent must  be  put  under  the  foot  and  the  nerve  treated 
all  the  way  down.  Under  the  knee  the  same  nerve  is 
nearer  the  surface  and  by  treating  there  the  current  will 
be  felt  running  down  to  the  foot,  thus  opening  the  road 
the  whole  length  of  the  sciatic  nerve,  the  nervous  force 
can  pass  along  without  giving  pain.  These  are  facts 
that  experience  has  proved  to  be  true  again  and   again. 

PARALYSIS. 

Paralysis  has  become  so  frequent  an  occurrence  that 
all  physicians  ought  to  study  the  subject  thoroughly, 
especially  the  causes  that  lead  to  it.  Since  the  intro- 
duction of  electro-therapeutics,  it  has  been  robbed  of 
half  its  terrors.  Electricity  in  its  different  forms  has 
been  used  more  than  in  any  other  disease  and  with  a 
fair  amount  of  success;  but  I  have  found  that  almost 
any  other  disease  yields  more  readily  to  electrical  treat- 
ment than  paralysis. 

There  are  many  kinds  and  it  originates  from  various 
causes;  and  it  takes  an  electrician  of  great  experience  to 
successfully  treat  it.  To  diagnose  it  and  find  the  cause 
is  the  first  thing  to  do.  The  nerves  of  motion  are  on 
the  anterior  part  of  the  spine,  and  nerves  of  sensation  on 
the  posterior.  Paralysis  of  motion  is  often  caused  by 
enlarged  glands  pressing  the  nerves  of  motion;  there 
may  be  an  indurated  or  hypertrophied  liver,  with  the 


A  Treatise  o?^  Electricity.  177 

enlargement  pressing  back,  paralysis  is  oftener  found 
from  this  cause  than  any  other.  Sometimes  congestion 
of  the  liver  will  cause  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  as  the  con- 
gestion becomes  reduced  strength  is  gradually  gained 
until  it  congests  again,  and  is  followed  by  another 
stroke.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  kidneys.  I  will 
cite  a  case  in  point:  , 

While  I  was  studying  medicine  one  of  the  professors 
had  a  patient  whose  difficulty  was  an  abscess  forming 
in  the  right  kidney.  One  morning  the  Professor  found 
her  so  paralyzed  that  she  could  not  move  or  speak;  but 
after  thirty-six  hours  the  abcess  broke,  the  pus  passed  off 
through  the  bladder,  and  she  very  soon  regained  the  use 
of  her  body.  Similar  cases  that  have  come  to  my  notice 
under  my  own  treatment  have  made  me  very  cautious  in 
diagnosing,  so  as  to  be  certain  that  there  is  nothing 
making  pressure  on  the  nerves  of  motion  of  the  spine. 
In  the  above  case  there  must  have  been  pressure  on 
spinal  nerves  and  the  renal  plexus,  affecting  the  solar 
plexus  of  the  sympathetic  nerves. 

Paraplegia  is  often  caused  by  sexual  difficulties,  such 
as  sexual  excesses.  Paralysis  venenata  by  sedative  poi- 
sons. This  is  nearly  always  the  cause  of  palsy^ 
and  its  victims  still  keep  up  the  old  treatment,  both  they 
and  their  physician  being  ignorant  of  the  true  cause. 

I  have  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  curing  cases 
caused  by  blood  poisons,  such  as  malaria  and  effete  mat- 
ter thrown  back  into  the  system,  caused  by  constipation 
and  indigestion,  this  is  the  form  that  attacks  healthy, 
robust  people,  and  they  bear  the  disease  until  every  nerve 
and  muscle  in  the  body  becomes  clogged,  and  before  they 
are  aware  of  it  the  enemy  is  creeping  upon  them,  and 
they  will  complain  of  their  hands  and  feet  going  to 
sleep  or  feeling  numb;  many  cases  of  this  character  I 
have  saved  from  paralysis  by  treating  in  time.     It  is 

12 


178  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

well  in  these  cases  to  give  thorough  general  treatment 
with  such  remedies  as  will  act  in  conjunction  with  the 
electrical  treatment  (to  clean  up  their  dirty  house  and 
arouse  and  clean  the  kitchen  or  liver,  as  I  tell  them) 
such  as  physic,  baths,  packs  and  physical  exercise. 

All  kinds  of  paralysis  need  general  treatment,  with 
local  where  the  cause  is  found.  In  most  cases  of  this 
disease,  and  in  all  the  different  forms,  it  takes  from  twen- 
ty to  a  hundred  treatments  to  entirely  eradicate  it  from 
the  system.  In  palsy  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  elec- 
tricity will  effect  a  cure  or  not.  In  some  cases  there  is 
a  continuity  of  nerve  fibre,  and  it  is  impossible  to  restore 
it  with  anything,  but  the  health  can  be  built  up  and  the 
patient  made  comfortable.  Muscular  paralysis,  where 
the  nerves  of  sensation  are  the  cause,  can  be  removed 
and  the  nerves  brought  back  to  their  normal  condition 
by  stimulating  the  skin  with  the  A,  0  or  D  currents.  The 
nerves  being  more  superficial,  respond  more  promptly  in 
these  cases.  I  have  cured  cases  where  a  pin  could  be 
run  through  the  muscle  without  being  felt.  I  do  not 
give  these  currents  exclusively,  but  vary  them  according 
to  my  best  judgment,  as  the  'case  may  require.  Facial 
paralysis  can  be  controlled  by  treating  the  seventh  pair 
of  nerves  under  the  ear.  This  is  a  nerve  of  motion,  but 
the  branches  of  the  fifth  pair  inosculate  with  the  seventh 
pair,  and  they  can  be  reached  with  less  pain.  The  fifth 
ganglionic  center  is  over  the  ear,  and  is  so  situated  that 
it  is  in  contact  with  a  bone,  making  it  painful  to  treat. 
The  muscles  paralyzed  should  be  treated  locally,  with 
currents  close  together. 

EHEUMATISM. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  rheumatism,  inflammatory  and 
chronic,  and  both  these  give  expression  in  different  ways. 
Sometimes  the  muscles  only  are  affected,  sometimes  only 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  379 

the  joints,  and  sometimes  both.  Another  form  affecting 
the  feet,  is  called  gout,  and  still  another  form,  caused  by 
calcaneus  or  lime  deposits  in  the  joints.  All  of  these, 
except  inflammatory,  are  very  stubborn  and  hard  to  con- 
trol with  electricity,  or  any  other  remedy.  Inflammatory 
rheumatism  can  be  controlled  almost  as  readily  as  neu- 
ralgia. It  springs  from  the  same  cause,  and  must  have 
nearly  the  same  treatment.  The  cause  is  usually  impure 
blood,  the  effete  particles  infiltrate  all  through  the  mus- 
cles, and  these  foreign  bodies  act  as  irritants,  causing  in- 
flammation. 

Instruction  for  treatment  in  neuralgia  will  cover  all 
these  symptoms  in  rheumatism.  After  arousing  the 
whole  system  and  effecting  all  the  chemical  change  pos- 
sible, give  acid  baths. 

Chronic  rheumatism  is  very  hard  to  control,  on  account 
of  the  long  continued  collection  of  corrosive  particles  on 
the  diseased  parts,  so  thickening  the  parts  with  coagulat- 
ed lymph  that  the  muscles  and  nerves  lose  the  power  to 
respond  to  any  treatment,  unless  it  is  very  powerful  and 
long  continued.  Galvanism  will  help  in  cases  of  this  de- 
scription. 

INFLAMMATORY  RHEUMATISM. 

Dr.  Morrill  :— It  gives  me  sincere  pleasure  to  thank  you 
in  this  manner  and  to  express  to  you  my  appreciation  of 
your  mode  of  treatment  in  my  recent  suffering  with  inflam- 
matory rheumatism— a  treatment  so  gentle,  so  grateful,  so 
humane  that  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  tell  the  story  of  it  that 
others  may  be  benefited, who  may  be  so  fortunate  as  to  secure 
your  services.  I  believe  your  treatment  peculiar  to  women 
and  her  diseases,  the  very  best  that  is  known.  That  God 
may  aid  you  in  this  and  other  good  works  is  the  sincere  wish 
of  your  true  friend.  Mrs.  S'  E.  Gay, 

639  West  Sixth  St.,  Cincinnati,  O. 

June  15, 1872c 


180  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

LOCK-JAW  OR  TETANUS. 

Lock-jaw  is  frequently  the  result  of  injuries,  and  is  so 
stubborn  under  the  present  method  of  treatment  that  it 
is  regarded  as  a  dangerous  disease.  The  first  symptom 
noticed  is  a  slight  stiffness  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  which 
renders  it  painful  and  difficult  to  move  the  head;  then  a 
pain  at  the  root  of  the  tongue,  with  a  rigidness  and  diffi- 
culty in  swallowing,  tightness  across  the  chest,  and  pain 
just  above  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  shooting  through  to 
the  back.  These  symptoms  are  considered  wholly  ner- 
vous, and  apparently  it  is  a  sympathetic  disease.  Some 
writers  claim  that  the  spinal  system  is  the  seat  of  the 
disease.  I  believe  it  is  the  sympathetic  nervous  system. 
"There  is  an  excitable  state  of  the  spinal  cord,  and  med- 
ular  oblongata,  not  involving  the  ganglia  of  special 
sense.  When  the  complaint  has  once  established  itself, 
the  removal  of  the  original  cause  of  irritation  is  seldom 
of  any  avail;  since  the  slightest  impression  upon  almost 
any  part  of  the  body  is  sufficient  to  excite  tetanic  spasms." 
It  would  seem  from  the  above  that  the  symptoms  more 
clearly  indicate  the  great  sympathetic  nervous  system  to 
be  the  seat  of  local  irritation,  than  the  spinal  nerves;  the 
spinal  nerves  or  a  part  of  them  would  be  involved  in 
traumatic,  but  not  in  idiopathic  cases. 

A  Mrs.  C,  whom  I  treated  for  uterine  difficulties,  had 
for  years  suffered  with  tetanic  spasms,  coming  on  at  the 
least  impression  upon  her  body  or  mind.  At  one  time 
she  could  not  shake  hands  with  her  friends  without 
bringing  on  a  spasm.  Her  jaws  would  lock,  her  face 
would  draw  to  one  side  and  be  fearfully  distorted,  and 
she  could  not  move  or  speak  until  hot  water  was  applied 
to  relax  the  muscles.  She  was  confident  that  the  cause 
was  uterine  disease.  She  had  been  treated  for  that  diffi- 
culty, but  nothing  seemed  to  benefit  her  except  electrici- 
ty, which  she  had  taken  at  Indianapolis  from  a  lady  phy- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  181 

sician.  She  wished  to  give  it  a  thorough  trial,for  she  had 
more  faith  in  it  than  in  any  other  treatment  for  that 
especial  disease.  When  I  first  commenced  I  could  only- 
give  the  slightest  current,  an  infant  a  week  old  could 
take  more.  She  would  have  slight  spasms  if  the  least 
thing  happened  in  adjusting  the  currents.  The  positive 
or  relaxing  current  would  relieve  her  as  soon  as  hot 
water.  I  gave  her  thirty  general  toning  treatments  be- 
fore I  dared  use  a  speculum  and  give  entra-uterine  treat- 
ment, but  with  every  treatment  I  had  given  uterus  stim- 
ulation with  the  vagina  electrode.  After  I  began  to  give 
the  local  internal  treatments  I  found  the  whole  cavity  of 
the  uterus  ulcerated,  but  controlled  and  healed  them  and 
cured  the  spasms  with  forty-five  treatments. 

INSANITY. 

Here  is  a  field  for  some  philanthropist,  to  investigate 
insanity  and  its  causes.  He  who  goes  through  life  de- 
pending upon  books  and  the  opinions  of  others,  without 
any  originality,  need  not  take  into  his  hands  and  under- 
ake  to  cure  insanity  with  electricity. 

The  prevailing  idea  is  that  insanity  is  caused  by  men- 
tal disease,  or  that  the  brain  is  the  seat  of  the  malady. 
But  in  the  cases  of  insanity  cured  by  me  I  did  not  in  one 
instance  find  its  cause  in  the  brain.  All  the  difficulty 
was  from  a  reflex  action  on  the  brain  from  local  causes  in 
the  body,  some  from  uterine  disease,  others  from  euremic 
poison  affecting  the  whole  nervous  system;  and  as  soon 
as  the  poison  became  neutralized  and  was  disharged 
from  the  system  health  was  restored  and  the  mind 
cleared. 

If  electricity  could  be  used  by  a  physician  experienced 
in  treating  nervous  disease  with  this  mode  of  application, 
from  nerve  centres,  I  am  confident  that  our  insane 
asylums  could  discharge  one-half  their  inmates  in  a  year's 


182  A  Teeatise  oi^  Electricity. 

time.  I  would  like  the  opportunity  of  giving  it  a  trial 
without  dictation  or  interference.  In  connection  with 
general  treatment  the  fifth  pair  of  nerves  must  be 
treated. 

CHOEEA  OR  ST.  VITUS  DANCE. 

The  predisposing  cause  is  nervousness.  The  symptoms 
are  a  twitching  and  involuntary  movement  of  muscles 
and  limbs,  and  an  inability  to  control  the  tongue  or  any 
part  of  the  body.  This  disease  almost  invariably  occurs 
in  children;  parents  are  often  more  frightened  than  they 
need  to  be.  Being  a  nervous  disease  it  is  readily  cured 
by  electricity.  In  many  cases  I  have  cured,  the  cause 
was  blood  poison  and  the  nerves  were  irritated  with 
effete  matters.  When  this  is  the  condition  treat  as  for 
any  malarial  disease,  by  giving  a  general  treatment 
more  spine  stimulation,  also  on  the  fifth  pair  of  nerves 
and  on  the  tongue. 

Case  of  Miss  B.,  aged  10. — She  was  very  nervous  and 
could  neither  walk  or  converse.  She  had  an  unusually 
sluggish  liver  for  a  child  of  her  age.  I  gave  her  general 
treatment,  with  cathartics,  until  she  commenced  to  gain, 
I  then  gave  spinal  and  local  to  the  throat  and  tongue. 
She  got  well  with  twenty  treatments,  and  remained  well 
until  the  menstural  period.  She  then  had  a  return  of  the 
disease,  but  I  controlled  it  again  with  two  week's  treat- 
ment. This  time  it  was  of  more  nervous  character  and 
did  not  take  as  many  treatments.  I  could  cite  many 
cases  that  electricity  has  cured  in  my  hands,  and  say  with 
all  confidence  it  is  a  specific  for  this  disease. 

STAMMERING. 

This  defect  in  speech  is  nervous  and  for  that  reason 
can  be  easily  controlled  with  electricity.  Apply  the  posi- 
tive current  to  the  mouth  and  tongue,  and  the  negative 
current  to  the  back  of  the    neck.       If   no  tongue  instru- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  183 

ment  is  available  use  a  teaspoon  wrapped  with  wet  salted 
cloth,  and  hold  the  wire  of  the  cord  to  the  wet  cloth  that 
is  wound  around  the  handle,  holding  the  bowl  of  the 
spoon  in  your  hand.  All  metals  must  be  covered  or  the 
mucous  surface  will  be  burned  and  it  does  not  conduct 
the  electricity  with  as  much  certainty.  Use  the  currents 
all  over  the  throat,  treating  the  tonsils.  After  treating 
the  mouth,  take  a  sponge  and  treat  externally  around 
the  ear,  reaching  the  fifth  pair  above  and  the  seventh 
below.  A  firm  pressure  on  back  of  the  neck  will  reach 
the  spinal  accessory  through  to  the  vocal  chords. 

Stammering.— I  was  cured  of  the  above  by  electricity  ; 
after  being  troubled  from  childhood,  by  Dr.  S.  "E.  Morrill. 

John  Boss, 
108  Ninth  street,  Philadelphia. 

INSOMNIA. 

Insomnia  or  sleeplessness  is  caused  by  overwork  of  the 
nervous  system,  either  from  mental  excitement  or  from 
some  diseased  condition  affecting  the  sympathetic  ner- 
vous system  and  causing  an  undue  amount  of  blood  to 
flow  to  the  brain.  This  disease  is  on  the  increase,  as  the 
extraordinary  sales  of  Bromide  of  Potassium  and  Hydrate 
of  Chloral  would  lead  us  to  infer.  Of  all  the  remedies 
that  have  been  prescribed  there  is  not  one  which  perma- 
nently relieves  it,  except  electricity.  It  has  never  failed 
in  my  hands  to  produce  sleep,  and  I  have  had  cases  who 
were  on  the  verge  of  insanity  for  the  want  of  it.  Many 
times  they  pass  into  a  quiet  sleep  in  five  minutes  after 
commencing  the  treatment. 

Miss  C,  a  teacher,  aged  twenty-four,  had  been  nnable 
to  sleep  for  weeks  before  her  school  closed,  except  for 
short  naps,  waking  immediately  with  fright  that  would 
keep  her  awake.  I  first  applied  the  current  to  the  spine 
as  described  in  chapter  on  general  treatment,  as  that 
method   acts   as   a  sedative.      I    then   took    two   small 


184  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

sponges  and  attached  both  currents  to  them,  making  the 
application  over  the  ears  with  very  mild  current,  (move 
the  switch  over  to  the  weak  side)  on  the  Gaserion  gang- 
lion, the -nerve  center  of  the  fifth  pair  of  nerves.  She 
gave  a  start.  "Why",  says  she,  "the  nerves  are  snapping 
and  cracking."  I  continued  the  treatment  and  in  less 
than  two  minutes  she  was  sound  asleep;  the  nerves  were 
on  such  a  strain  that  they  relaxed  with  a  snapping  sound. 
This  is  the  principal  nerve  to  treat  for  insomnia. 

HYSTERIA. 

Hysteria  is  a  purely  nervous  disease,  caused  by  some 
uterine  or  ovarian  derangement.  This  disease  is  proba- 
bly due  entirely  to  the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  and 
the  general  treatment  should  be  directed  to  those  nerve 
centers:  for  instance,  the  solar  plexus;  this  nerve  center 
is  always  in  sympathy  with  the  sexual  organs.  When 
we 'hear  women  complain  of  pain  in  the  left  side  under 
the  left  breast  we  are  suspicious  of  displacements  of  some 
kind.  The  uterus  and  ovaries  must  receive  local  stimula- 
tion. I  could  relate  many  cases  of  hysteria  that  were 
permanently  cured  as  soon  as  the  congested  uterus  or 
ovaries  were  reduced.  I  cured  one  case  of  hysterical 
mania  caused  by  nymphomania. 

How  many  times  have  I  heard  physicians  speaking 
lightly  of  certain  cases,  "Not  much  the  matter,  only  a  hys- 
terical condition."  This  is  wrong,  and  shows  the  igno- 
rance of  such  physicians.  Hysteria  and  its  mode  of  ex- 
pression denotes  its  origin  to  any  well-posted  physician. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

INFLAMMATION. 

"Perhaps  there  is  no  subject  that  has  caused  so  much 
diversity  of  opinion  as  that  of  inflammation.  The  prevail- 
ing conclusion  is  that  it  consists  of  an  engorgement  of  the 
capillary  vessels,  dependent  on  their  diminished  action 
and  the  relaxed  condition  of  their  cells,  together  with 
more  or  less  accelerated  motion  of  the  heart  and  arte- 
ries," and  that  from  such  an  abnormal  condition  arises 
the  well-known  characteristic  symptoms,  pain,  heat,  red- 
ness and  swelling.  As  the  inflammatory  condition  is  in- 
creased, the  whole  system  partakes  of  the  excitement, 
and  an  increased  amount  of  blood  is  thrown  to  the  dis- 
eased locality,  increasing  the  already  distended  capilla- 
ries, the  contractile  power  growing  less  and  less,  and  the 
tissues  around  becoming  softened  and  enlarged,  because 
the  plastic  lymph  can  not  be  absorbed,  as  the  nervous 
action  of  the  capillary  walls  is  diminished  or  paralyzed. 
The  surrounding  tissue  breaks  down,  and  if  not  checked 
ulceration  is  the  result.  The  amount  and  intensity  of 
the  pain  depends  largely  upon  the  elasticity  and  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  part  affected.  If  the  bone  is  affected  the 
pain  is  much  more  severe  on  account  of  the  nerves  being 
very  sensitive  near  the  osseus  structure.  Swelling  arises 
from  an  effusion  of  coagulated  lymph  and  serum. 

Electricity  applied  to  the  seat  of  the  disease  immediate- 
ly relieves  the  pain  and  congestion,  let  it  be  traumatic  or 
idiopathic  We  apply  the  negative  current  immediately 
over  the  injury,  contracting  the  capillaries,  thus  changing 
the    circulation,   vitalizing   the    surrounding  tissues   and 

18.!) 


186  A  Treatise  ok  Electricity. 

restoring  normal  action.  Sprains,  cuts  and  slight  injuries, 
of  all  kinds  can  be  cured  with  two  or  three  local  applica- 
tions. If  the  system  has  received  a  shock  give  a  general 
treatment,  which  will  quiet  the  nervous  system,  besides 
toning  and  strengthening  circulation,  and  diverting  the 
blood  from  the  diseased  part. 

Many  will  ask  why  this  is  not  more  generally 
known?  The  principal  reason  is  because  the  machines 
are  made  too  intense  and  deficient  in  quantity.  Take  the 
A  D  current  for  example.  The  current  is  superficial, 
and  would  be  too  strong  and  the  sensation  too  sharp  for 
a  cut  or  bruise;  besides  the  current  would  not  affect  the 
arterial    system,    which  must  be  reached  to  afi"ect  a  cure. 

And  now  we  see  the  beneficial  results  from  the  use  of 
salt  in  the  water;  its  stimulating  powers  help  to  throw 
off  the  surplus  heat.  In  local  applications  the  currents 
must  be  close  together;  not  so  close  that  the  cloths  or 
sponges  touch,  however.  Take  a  sprained  wrist,  drop 
one  plate  in  a  shallow  dish  of  salt  water,  with  the  A  or 
positive  current,  then  wrap  a  cloth  attached  to  the  B  or 
negative  pole,  just  above  or  over  the  sprain,  and  immerse 
the  hand  in  the  dish;  sometimes  we  place  the  B  pole  at 
the  elbow  (inside)  and  pass  the  current  the  whole  length 
of  the  forearms.  Injuries  of  the  ankle  or  lower  extremi- 
ties can  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner.  If  the  case  is  of 
long  standing  and  coagulated  lymph  and  serum  are  pres- 
ent, or  if  ulceration  has  commenced,  it  will  take  a  number 
of  treatments  to  cure  it.  The  application  can  be  made 
and  continued  an  hour  or  more  with  great  benefit  and  no 
danger  of  ill  efi*ects.  In  these  cases  w^e  arouse  an  acute 
form  of  disease,  which  will  pass  off  at  the  next  applica- 
tion. This  mode  of  application  stimulates  morbid  lesion 
of  the  part,  and  hastens  resolution.  But  in  some  cases 
the    case    does   not  fall  into  our  hands  until  suppuration 


'  A  Treatise  o:^  Electricity.  187 

has  so  far  advanced  that  it  can  not  be  terminated  that 
way.  Then  reverse  your  poles,  placing  the  positive  or 
relaxing  current  over  the  injury,  and  the  negative  close 
by  to  stimulate  the  surrounding  tissues,  and  in  a  short 
time  healthy  granulations  will  appear,  the  line  of  de- 
markation  will  be  seen  and  good  results  follow. 
Should  there  be  pus  it  will  "point"  in  half  the  time  it 
would  without  the  electricity.  No  matter  how  deeply  im- 
bedded it  may  be,  the  current  will  relax  the  tissues  on 
the  surface,  and  it  will  come  there  and  not  burrow  along 
a  nerve  or  artery.  Felons  and  abscesses  are  very  pain- 
ful, but  the  current  of  electricity  will  relieve  them,  and 
if  left  for  hours  or  all  night  on  the  inflamed  surface,  it 
will  insure  a  comfortable  sleep  and  an  early  termination 
of  the  suffering. 

FEVERS. 

Fevers  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  arise  from 
various  causes.  The  symptoms  are  languor  and  weak- 
ness, an  aversion  to  exercise;  the  bones  ache;  chills  are 
felt,  followed  by  heat;  the  face  is  flushed,  the  pulse  is 
quick,  the  head  aches,  the  brain  is  clouded  and  the  ideas 
are  confused.  All  fevers,  in  my  opinion,  are  caused  by 
blood  poison,  either  by  malaria  or  other  poison  arising 
from  indigestion  or  constipation;  sometimes  from  inac- 
tion of  the  liver;  and  Dame  Nature,  ever  ready  to  help 
herself  when  an  opportunity  presents  itself,  burns  up 
this  effete  matter  with  fever,  and  if  the  patient  has  vital- 
ity enough  to  overcome  the  fever,  they  are  the  better 
for  it. 

I  found  in  cases  of  fever  the  liver  invariably  congested, 
and  of  course  doing  nothing  to  expel  the  poison  which 
is  debilitating  the  patient.  Electrical  treatment  in  fevers 
shows  its  power  immediately.  I  have  reduced  a  fever  in 
from  15  to  40  minutes,  where  the  pulse  was  running  over 


188  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

one  hundred  beats  per  minute,  by  giving  a  general  treat- 
ment. Sometimes  after  the  fever  had  run  for  thirty-six 
hours,  and  no  remedies  had  been  of  benefit,  I  run  the 
pulse  down  and  caused  perspiration  in  twenty  minutes. 
But  reducing  the  fever  does  not  cure  the  disease.  After 
the  fever  is  allayed,  direct  your  attention  to  the  liver. 
Reduce  the  congestion,  which  can  be  done  with  three 
treatments,  and  give  such  remedies  as  is  called  for,  A 
mild  physic  is  good  treatment,  with  oil  bath,  or  salt  water 
packs  over  the  liver  and  stomach.  I  very  seldom  make 
over  three  visits  for  bilious  or  even  typhoid  fever. 
Arousing  the  system  is  all  that  is  necessary,  and  nature 
will  do  the  work. 

Fever  and  ague  yields  the  most  readily  to  electro- 
vapor  baths.  Have  your  patients  come  just  before  the 
time  for  the  chill,  and  keep  them  in  the  bath  until  they 
perspire  freely.  That  one  bath  will  break  up  nine  out 
of  ten  cases.  In  case  the  fever  is  on  do  not  give  a  bath, 
the  fever  will  be  reduced  much  sooner  by  a  dry  general 
treatment,  and  at  the  same  time  you  can  arouse  the  liver 
and  help  to  overcome  the  disease  without  quinine.  My 
opinion  is  that  yellow  fever  can  be  cured  with  electricity, 
if  a  thorough  general  treatment  could  be  given,  and 
plenty  of  salt  used,  for  that  disease  is  conceded  to  be 
xymotic  in  its  character.  Our  own  experience  has  been 
more  with  chronic  disease.  We  hope  the  profession  will 
investigate  this  treatment  in  its  application  to  fevers,  and 
See  if  this  wonderful  remedy  will  not  be  a  power  in 
their  hands  they  never  dreamed  of. 

PURPURA  HEMORRHAGICA. 

This  disease  is  rarely  met  with.  It  can  be  recognized 
by  purple  or  ecchymosis  spots,  resembling  bruises,  which 
afterwards  change  to  a  greenish  cast.  Usually  they  ap- 
pear on  the  lower    extremities,  'and    gradually  creep  up- 


A  Treatise  o:s  Electricity.  189 

ward  until  the  whole  body  is  spotted.  They  occur  in 
persons  who  are  constitutionally  inclined  to  hemorrhage. 
Such  persons  are  necessarily  debilitated,  and  the  local 
cause  of  the  hemorrhage  should  be  found  out.  Treat- 
ment is  general  and  local  to  the  part  affected. 

Mrs.  S.,  case  of  hemorrhage  from  the  bowels  during 
warin  weather.  She  was  covered  with  "spots,"  had  slight 
uterine  trouble,  some  pain  over  right  ovary,  which  I 
thought  was  due  to  tenderness  of  the  colon,  near  rectum, 
where  the  hemorrhage  must  have  arisen.  She  was  weak 
and  debilitated  generally.  I  gave  twenty  treatments, 
general,  and  local  to  the  rectum.  It  is  now  eighteen 
months,  and  she  has  had  no  return  of  the  bleeding,  or  any 
signs  of  the  spots;  her  health  is  good  and  no  distress  is 
felt  in  walking. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Thoracic  Cavity. 

"heart  disease." 

When  digestion  is  impaired  and  the  stomach  becomes 
distended  with  gas,  the  latter  presses  on  the  cavity  con- 
taining the  heart,  interferes  with  its  action,  and  in  some 
(I  might  say  many)  cases  causes  death.  This  result  is 
often  attributed  to  actual  heart  disease.  Occasionally 
sexual  disease  will  cause  these  symptoms  in  either  sex. 
Many  persons  suffering  from  what  their  physicians  term 
"heart  disease,"  have  nothing  more  than  a  sympathetic 
affection  from  some  of  these  causes.  Equalize  the  elec- 
trical forces  by  promoting  a  good  circulation.  A  few 
general  treatments  with  electricity  is  what  they  need. 
But,  as  I  have  said,  where  actual  valvular  disease  is  pres- 
ent I  claim  that  the  disease  is  only  modified  and  not 
cured. 

TO    DIAGNOSE    DISEASES    OF  THE  HEART. 

If  on  passing  the  sponge  over  the  region  of  this  organ 
the  muscles  are  tender  to  the  current,  you  cannot  diagnose 
heart  disease  to  a  certainty.  In  angina  pectoris  the 
muscles  are  sensitive,  and  this  condition  can  be  cured, 
even  in  cases  where  the  patient  faints  upon  the  first  ap- 
plication. The  same  with  all  muscular  diseases  of  the 
heart,  such  as  neuralgia,  rheumatism,  paralysis  and  hy- 
pertrophy. But  if  a  fatty  or  valvular  lesion  is  found,  we 
do  not  think  it  can  be  permanently  cured  by  electricity; 
but,  as  I  have  said  before,  by  building  up  the  general 
health  the  condition  is  relieved  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
patient  would  scarcely  realize  he  had  heart  disease,  and 

190 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity  191 

might  live  to  a  good  old  age.     I  have  a  number  of  these 
patientswho  are  seemingly  enjoying  the  best  of  health. 

Then  there  are  nervous  and  dyspeptic  difficulties, 
which  often  produce  symptoms  so  closely  resembling 
heart  disease  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  lay  down  any 
reliable  symptoms  whereby  the  real  disease  can  be  diag- 
nosed understandingly,  or  the  prognosis  given  to  a  cer- 
tainty. •  The  pericardium  or  covering  of  the  organ  is  often 
the  seat  of  inflammation,  causing  severe  pain  and  palpi- 
tation. This  condition,  however,  does  not  denote  actual 
heart  disease,  but  it  may  develop  into  chronic  pericardi- 
tis, thereby  causing  a  good  deal  of  suffering,  but  no  actu- 
al danger.  In  congestion  and  enlargement  of  the  liver  the 
pressure  causes  an  increased  nervous  action  of  the  heart, 
producing  such  unpleasant  symptoms  that  people  imag- 
ine they  are  afflicted  with  heart  disease. 


From  the  South  Bend  Tribune. 

"In  olden  times  it  was  thought  that  heart  disease ,  of 
whatever  character,  was  incurable.  Of  late  years  it  is 
admitted  by  some  that  functional  diseases  of  the  heart 
may  be  cured.  'Now  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  heart  is 
formed  of  the  same  kinds  of  tissue  as  other  muscular  or- 
gans, that  it  derives  its  supply  of  blood  from  the  same 
source  and  in  the  same  way,  that  its  nutrition  is  the  same, 
that  it  is  governed  by  the  same  laws  of  waste  and  supply 
as  all  other  parts,  we  must  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that 
its  structural  lesions  are  amenable  to  the  same  treat- 
ment that  succeeds  in  similar  lesions  in  other  organs.' 

"We  scarcely  take  up  a  paper  without  noticing  '  Died 
of  Heart  Disease.'  Does  it  never  occur  to  the  reader  that 
diseases  of  the  heart  have  not  been  thoroughly  studied? 
We  find  upon  investigating  important  nervous  connec- 
tions between  the  heart  and  other  organs,  in  fact  with  the 


192  A  Tkeatise  oi^t  Electricity. 

entire  sympathetic  system  of  nerves,  establishing  a  sym- 
pathetic relation  between  it  and  all  parts  of  the  body, 
supplied  by  these  nerves,  especially  the  stomach,  liver 
and  organs  of  digestion.  It  has  been  proven  by  Prof. 
Weber,  of  Leipsic,  and  M.  Claud  Bernard,  that  the 
heart  is  greatly  dependent  upon  the  pneumogastric  nerve 
to  regulate  its  action.  If  this  nerve  be  severed  in  an  ani- 
mal the  action  of  the  heart  runs  wild,  its  pulsations  cannot 
be  counted.  We  therefore  know  that  the  pneumogastric 
is  the  regulator  and  not  the  motor  nerve  of  the  heart,  and 
furcher  when  very  quick  pulsations  of  the  heart  are  oc- 
curring, we  know  that  this  nerve  is  paralyzed  or  approach- 
ing a  state  of  paralyzation,  or  else  the  sympathetic  is 
conveying  from  the  nerve  centers  some  increased  abnor- 
mal stimulus.  From  the  above  facts  and  experience  of 
our  own,  more  than  we  have  time  or  space  to  give,  we 
are  led  to  conclude  that  many  cases  of  reported  heart 
disease  died  from  stomach  or  other  diseases  affecting  this 
nerve.  Many  physicians  diagnose  heart  disease  and 
treat  for  it,  while  it  is  only  a  sympathetic  trouble,  and  by 
so  doing,  in  many  cases,  let  the  cause   kill  the  patient. 

"  S.   E.    MOKRILL,   M.   D." 

CONSUMPTION. 

The  American  Cyclopedia  says:  "This  disease 
presents  itself  in  one  of  two  forms:  First,  as  small, 
rounded,  semi-transparent  granulations  of  a  grayish  color, 
varying  in  size  from  a  millet  seed  to  a  pea,  disseminated 
throughout  the  aifected  portion  of  the  lungs.  In  the 
progress  of  the  disease  a  yellow  spot  is  formed  in  the 
center  of  the  grayish  matter  and  this  gradually  increases 
until  the  whole  becomes  of  a  uniform  color.  Second,  the 
grayish  matter  is  infiltrated  into  the  substance  of  the 
lungs  in  irregular  masses;  the  yellowish  points  make  their 
appearance  in   these  masses,   increase  and  coalesce,  until 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  193 

the  whole  forms  irregular  round  bodies,  varying  in  size 
from  a  pea  to  a  hen's  Ggg,  more  or  less  soft  and  pliable, 
breaking  down  like  cheese  under  the  pressure  of  the  fin- 
gers. After  a  time  these  yellow  bodies  undergo  a  new 
transformation.  They  begin  to  soften  in  the  center,  and 
gradually  become  converted  into  a  thick  yellowish  fluid 
or  semi-fluid  matter.  The  abcesses  containing  this  mat- 
ter are  termed  vomical;  by  degrees  their  contents  find, 
their  way  into  the  bronchial  tubes  and  are  expectorated, 
leaving  ragged,  irregular  cavities  in  the  lungs.  These 
cavities  when  first  formed  are  rounded,  are  rarely  entirely 
emptied,  and  are  commonly  lined  by  a  delicate  false 
membrane.  Old  cavities  are  irregular  in  their  form,  pre- 
senting anfractuousities,  and  are  commonly  lined  with 
a  dense  false  membrane,  while  their  walls  and  the 
neighboring  pulmonary  tissue  are  infiltrated  with  tuber- 
cle. The  mucous  membrane  lining  the  bronchial  tubes 
is  connected  with  old  cavities,  is  almost  invariably  in- 
flamed and  thickened.  In  a  certain  number  of  cases  the 
trachea  presents  ulcerations  varying  in  size  and  number. 
The  larynx  is  more  rarely  affected,  and  here  the  ulcera- 
tions are  usually  confined  to  the  vocal  chords  and  the 
epiglottis."  ' 

Consumption  usually  begins  with  a  dry,  hoarse  cough, 
shortness  of  breath,  heat,  pain  and  oppression  of  the 
chest,  expectoration  of  matter  which  falls  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  hectic  fever,  night  sweats,  eyes  sunken 
and  glassy.  Is  this  mortality  among  consumptives  in- 
evitable? •  Will  the  time  ever  come  when  the  destroyer 
of  so  many  lives  yearly  will  be  understood  and  controlled? 
The  cause,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  is  impure  blood; 
many  times  inverted  eruptions.  The  tendency  to  weak 
lungs  is  often  hereditary,  and  is  then  considered  incura- 
ble. 

The  present  mode  of  treatment  is  far  from  meeting  the 

♦13 


194  A   Treatise  on  Electricity. 

demand.  Cod-liver  oil  has  been  extensively  used  but 
with  very  little  benefit.  It  fails  because  the  stomach  is 
weak  and  cannot  assimilate  it,  and  the  remedy  weakens 
all  the  digestive  organs  still  more.  What  is  most  essen- 
tial is  to  keep  up  the  strength.  If  oleaginous  oils  are 
necessary  the  better  way  is  to  apply  them  externally  and 
not  overload  the  stomach  with  such  indigestible  remedies. 
When  there  is  very  much  disorganization  of  the  tissue  of 
the  lungs  we  do  not  claim  to  cure  this  disease  with  elec- 
tricity, but  when  the  lungs  are  not  too  sluggish  and  the 
circulation  can  be  changed,  the  blood  driven  to  the  ex- 
tremities, and  the  general  health  be  built  up,  it  is 
possible. 

ASTHMA. 

Asthma  has  generally  been  regarded  as  an  incurable 
disease  by  all  schools  of  medicine,  their  remedies  being 
only  palliative.  The  result  of  their  treatment  confirms 
the  opinion  of  many  that  the  remedy  for  this  distressing 
disease  is  yet  to  be  discovered,  or  the  true  pathology  of 
the  causes  better  understood.  "To  know  a  disease  is 
more  than  its  cure."  "  The  pathology  of  asthma,"  says 
Dr.  Dickison,  "  is  difficult  and  obscure.  The  difficulty  of 
breathing  is  two-fold  and  urges  both  during  expiration 
and  inspiration.  It  is  hence  plausibly  suggested  either 
that  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  bronchia  are  everywhere 
rigid,  refusing  both  to  contract  and  to  dilate,  or  that  in 
some  portions  of  the  air  tubes  these  are  spasmodically 
contracted,  resisting  both  the  entrance  and  exit  of  air." 

There  are  two  varieties  of  asthma,  a  catharrhal  and 
inflammatory ;  in  the  former  an  excess  of  secretion ;  in 
the  latter  dryness  accompanied  with  a  cough.  In  the 
former  there  is  a  relaxation  of  the  air  cells,  in  the  latter 
a  contraction.  Each  condition  always  causes  its  own 
result.  The  expiration  is  impeded  m  the  first  kind  and 
inspiration  in  the  latter.       Both  forms  of  diseases  cause 


A  Treatise  oif  Electricity.  195 

difficult  breathing.  In  catharrhal  asthma  the  condition 
is  negative  to  the  atmosphere,  consequently  the  secre- 
tions tend  to  the  mucous  surfaces  and  when  the  system 
is  positive  to  the  atmosphere  the  secretions  tend  to  the 
skin,  leaving  the  mucous  membrane  dry  and  inflamma- 
tory. The  two  diseases  are  entirely  different  and  need 
different  climates;  that  which  is  congenial  to  one  is  det- 
rimental to  the  other. 

I  have  cured  both  kinds  of  asthma  with  electrical  treat- 
ment, by  changing  the  electrical  polarities  of  the  system. 
In  negative  or  catharrhal  asthma  use  the  positive  current 
to  the  mucous  membrane,  in  the  positive  or  inflamma- 
tory asthma  apply  the  negative  current  in  the  mouth. 
In  the  latter  alkalies  are  needed;  in  the  former  acid  is 
wanting.  Give  whichever  of  these  remedies  is  called  for. 
Grood  general  treatment  will  build  up  the  general  health, 
and  purify  the  blood,  and  tone  the  muscles  of  the  respiri- 
tory  organs. 

I  cured  a  case  that  seemed  very  much  aggravated 
whenever  the  liver  became  congested,  the  pressure  on  the 
diaphragm  causing  a  pressure  on  the  respiratory  organs 
and  causing  severe  paroxysms  of  asthma.  The  gentle- 
man inherited  the  disease  from  his  mother  she  having 
always  suffered  from  it  until  after  his  birth.  Since  that 
time  she  had  been  free  from  it  but  he  had  been  subject 
to  it  from  his  tenth  year.  Since  he  came  under  electrical 
treatment  he  has  had  only  a  few  slight  attacks  of  it  and 
by  treating  the  liver  the  disease  is  immediately  relieved 
and  the  mucous  membrane  restored  to  a  normal  condi- 
tion. The  attack  comes  solely  from  the  pressure  of  the 
congested  liver. 

pleurisy,  pleutro-pneumonia,  pneumonia. 

All  the  above  diseases  yield  readily  to  electrical  treat- 
ment, for  the  reason  they  are  acute  inflammatory  dis- 
eases.     When   these  diseases  are  cured  with  electricity 


196  A  Tkeatise  ok  Electricity. 

the  patients  are  in  no  danger  of  the  disease  causing 
adhesion.  The  inflammation  is  relieved  before  the  adhe- 
sions are  formed. 

While  in  Washington,  D.  C,  Mrs.  B.  Lock  wood 
brought  a  woman,  from  one  of  the  hotels  very  sick 
with  typhoid  pneumonia.  She  was  brought  in  the 
evening.  I  gave  her  a  general  treatment  that  night; 
it  quieted  her  so  that  she  slept  better  than  for  a 
week.  She  was  much  better  in  the  morning,  and  her 
system  was  aroused  from  its  typhoid  condition.  I  gave 
her  six  treatments.  She  was  up  after  the  third,  and 
left  the  day  of  the  sixth  nearly  well.  She  had  no  other 
treatment  but  electricity,  except  a  mild  cathartic. 

This  is  to  certify  that  from  September  10  until  Novem- 
ber 13th,  I  was  prostrated  with  bilious  fever,  which  ran 
into  yellow  fever.  The  last  of  November  my  father 
came  to  St.  Louis  and  brought  me  to  Washington.  I 
improved  after  my  arrival  here  until  December.  From 
taking  cold  I  was  again  prostrated  with  pleurisy  in  its 
most  aggravated  form.  Having  no  reserve  vital  force 
my  system  could  not  with  medicines  rally,  and  my  life 
was  again  despaired  of.  At  this  time  Dr.  Morrill  came 
to  this  city  from  Philadelphia;  and  I  heard  he  used  elec- 
tricity. Having  had  a  child's  life  saved,  who  was  very 
low  with  croup,  I  was  desirous  of  having  my  father  send 
for  him  and  he  did  so.  After  commencing  his  treatment 
my  restoration  to  health  was  rapid,  and  my  present  con- 
dition is  a  marvel  to  myself  and  friends.  In  fact,  it 
seems  almost  a  miracle  for  I  received  only  seven  treat- 
ments to  relieve  all  pain,  to  gain  my  appetite  and  put 
me  on  my  feet.  Very  truly,  yours, 

E.  M.  Harrison. 
No  4  Langdon  Terrace,  near  Howard  College. 

I  take  pleasure  in  confirming  the  above  statement 
made  by  my  son,  and  would  further  state  that  he  has 
gained,  from  December  25th  to  April  25th,  sixty-eight 
and  a  half  pounds. 

M.  K.  Harrison. 

Washington,  Jan.  13, 1864. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DISEASES   OF  THE^  KIDKEYS. 

Diseases  of  the  kidneys  are  characterized  by  pains 
over  the  hips,  in  the  small  of  the  back,  and  sometimes 
down  to  the  ureter  and  the  bladder.  To  diagnose  these 
diseases  with  electricity  care  must  be  taken  not  to  con- 
found them  with  sexual  troubles.  If  soreness  is  com- 
plained of  over  the  crest  of  the  ilium  we  are  fairly  cer- 
tain the  kidney  is  at  fault,  but  when  the  sensitive  nerves 
are  not  reached  until  the  sponge  passes  below  the  lum- 
bar region  we  may  mistake  it  for  sexual  diseases,  or 
the  latter  may  be  mistaken  for  kidney  disease  as  the 
case  may  be.  The  tenderness  down  the  groin  may 
be  the  round  ligament  or  spermatic  cord.  But  time 
and  experience  will  teach  the  electrician  the  differ- 
ence. In  sexual  disease  the  nerves  are  very  sensitive  in 
the  region  of  the  hips  as  far  down  as  tne  coccyx,  and 
occasionally  including  the  sciatic  nerve,  which  is  also 
quite  sensitive;  while  in  kidney  troubles  the  tenderness 
is  in  the  lumbar  region. 

All  diseases  ol  the  kidneys  are  amenable  to  electrical 
treatment.  Acute  forms  yield  readily  while  in  the  more 
chronic  cases  it  is  necessary  to  increase  or  regulate  the 
nervous  action  of  the  organs,  by  placing  a  current  over 
either  kidney  and  treating  10  or  15  minutes.  Thus  we 
stimulate  the  flow  of  urine  which  in  some  cases  will  be 
doubled.  In  diagnosing  with  electricity  press  on  with 
the  sponge  and  see  if  the  current  is  felt  on  the  back  in. 
the  region  of  the  kidneys.  Enlargement  of  the  right 
lobe  of  the  liver  or  cancer  of  the  p34oric  orifice  of  the 
stomach  may  be  mistaken  for  kidney  disease.     In  per- 

197 


198  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

cussing  these  organs  the  patient  should  be  placed  on  the 
abdomen  which  allows  the  bowels  to  float,  while  the 
other  organs  sink  and  leave  the  kidneys  free  from  inter- 
nal pressure. 

I  will  cite  a  case  to  show  the  necessity  of  a  thorough 

diagnosis:     Miss    J ,    age    32,    the   daughter  ot  a 

wealthy  senator,  had  been  under  medical  treatment 
since  14  years  of  age.  At  that  time  Dr.  S per- 
formed an  operation  for  dysmenorrhea.  She  dated  her 
trouble  back  to  that  "barbarous  treatment".  When  I 
diagnosed  with  electricity,  I  could  find  no  uterine  trouble 
but  discovered  what  seemed  to  be  a  tumor  in  the  right 
hypochondric  region.  [She  had  known  of  it  for  some 
time,  as  had  her  physician  but  they  paid  no  attention 
to  it].  The  tumor  could  be  pressed  back  and  the  cur- 
rent when  passed  into  it  could  be  felt  very  strong  in 
the  kidney  and  would  cause  a  nauseating  sensation  in 
the  stomach.  I  knew  then  we  had  enlarged  capsule  com- 
plicated with  chronic  nephritis  to  deal  with.  I  also 
found  a  slight  hemorrhage  from  the  urethra  which  had 
been  treated  as  a  uterine  discharge.  She  had  been  par- 
tially paralyzed  for  two  years  and  had  been  growing 
worse  all  the  the  time.  At  the  commencement  of  my 
treatment  she  could  neither  get  out  of  her  carriage  or 
go  up  stairs  without  help.  Her  right  hip  seemed  to  be 
the  center  of  her  difficulty,  and  the  right  kidney  was 
the  one  with  the  enlarged  capsule.  This  was  the  cause 
of  the  paralysis,  she  had  been  treated  for  18  years  by  the 
best  physicians,  both  in  Europe  also  in  New  York  and 
other  cities,  for  uterine  difficulty.  The  first  indication 
or  hint  she  had  received  of  the  true  cause  was  the  diag- 
nosing with  electricity.  After  two  weeks'  treatment  she 
could  go  up  stairs  nearly  as  well  as  any  one  else.  After 
four  weeks'  she  was  discharged  cured,  the  tumor  had 
disappeared  and  no  further  trouble  was  felt  from  either 
uterine  or  kidney  trouble. 


A  Treatise  oj^  Electeicity.  199 


To  Dr.  Bright,  of  London,  England  belongs  the  credit 
of  first  presenting  to  the  profession,  a  systematic  and  ac- 
curate description  of  the  symptomatic  and  pathological 
phenomena  of  this  disease.  Hence  the  term  to  distin- 
guish the  malady."* 

It  is  now  conceded  by  a  majority  of  physicians  that  this 
disease  does  not  originate  in  the  kidneys  but  in  the  blood 
in  the  form  of  retained  effete  matter,  the  urinary  organs 
becoming  diseased  from  being  overworked  by  albumi- 
nous urine.  If  blood  poison  is  the  primary  cause  of 
this  disease,  why  should  it  prove  fatal  any  more  than 
rheumatism  or  other  diseases  of  the  blood?  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  nervous  or  vital  forces  are  debilitated  in 
this  as  well  as  other  diseases,  and  what  will  restore  the 
nervous  action  will  eradicate  the. disease.  Electricity 
arouses  vital  action  in  all  nervous  troubles,  by  pro- 
ducing a  chemical  change  in  the  blood  destroying  the 
poisonous  matter  and  therefore  we  claim  that  it  is  a 
panacea  in  this  disease. 

In  this  disease  a  general  and  thorough  treatment 
should  be  given  every  day  to  the  organs  of  digestion, 
and  liver  thus  causing  them  to  absorb  the  albumen  and 
throw  off  the  impurities  and  thereby  relieve  the  kidneys 
of  a  portion  of  their  work.  All  remedies  given  should 
tend  to  this  end.  Nothing  that  will  irritate  the  stomach 
or  lessen  absorption  should  be  given.  Mild  cathartics, 
oil,  vinegar,  malt,  electro-vapor,  electro-thermal  or 
sponge  baths  will  prove  beneficial,  and  aid  in  the  cure  of 
this  disease.  Care  must  be  taken  though  not  to  over- 
stimulate  the  skin  or  excretory  organs. 

I  will  give  an  example  of  this  that  the  reader  may 
avail  a  like  experience. 

Mrs.  Y had  been  taking  electro-vapor  baths,  one 

every  day  of  a  regular   practitioner   for  three   weeks, 

*Marcy  and  Hunt's  theory  and  practice. 


200  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

when  she  came  under  my  care.  I  found  the  urin^ 
scanty,  bowels  constipated,  and  digestion  impaired. 
Upon  loosening  her  clothes  a  very  disagreeable  smell  as 
of  urine  and  faeces  was  thrown  off  from  the  skin.  In 
this  case  the  matter  was  overdone  because  it  was  a  good 
remedy.  I  avoided  bahts  for  a  time  but  gave  her  a  gen- 
eral treatment,  stimulated  the  liver,  bowels,  stomach, 
and  kidneys  to  act,  and  thereby  relieved  the  overcrowd- 
ed skin.  She  made  a  good  recovery.  It  is  the  fault  of 
too  many  people,  because  one  kind  of  remedy  is  good, 
to  carry  it  to  an  extreme.  No  disease  can  be  perma- 
nently cured  by  one  thing  alone;  we  must  employ  all 
good  remedial  agents. 

CYSTITIS. 

'Acute  inflammation  of  the  bladder,  like  nephritis, 
commences  with  chill,  soreness  on  pressure  in  the  hypo- 
gastric region,  frequent  pulse,  skin  dry  and  hot,  urine 
scanty  and  high  colored,  and  a  constant  desire  to  uri- 
nate which  produces  a  scalding  sensation  in  the  urethra; 
sometimes  nausea  or  vomiting,  acute  or  dragging  pains 
in  the  loins.  If  the  inflammation  is  confined  to  the 
neck  of  the  bladder,  there  will  be  an  almost  entire  sup- 
pression of  urine."*  If  acute  inflammation  is  not  termi- 
nated favorably  within  a  reasonble  time  other  symptoms 
arise,  such  as  a  mucous  secretion,  pain  in  the  neck  of  the 
bladder  and  the  urethra;  we  then  diagnose  the  case  as 
chronic  cystitis. 

To  cure  either  form  of  this  disease  with  electricity  we 
generally  treat  to  arouse  the  other  organs,  the  glands, 
the  skin;  and  treat  to  reduce  the  inflammation.  "We 
usually  encounter  some  difiiculty  in  this  treatment,  as 
the  parts  are  inflamed,  tender  and  swollen.  An  ordinary 
silver  female  catheter  is  passed  into  the  bladder  and  the 
positive  current  attached,  while  the  negative  is  placed 

*Marcy  and  Hunt. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  201 

over  the  bladder  and  in  the  vagina  of  female,  in  rectum 
of  male.  In  recent  cases  the  current  must  be  light, 
but  a  speedy  cure  will  follow;  if  chronic,  the  current 
will  arouse  an  inflammation,  which  in  turn  will  be 
carried  off.  In  cases  where  there  is  much  pain  and  swell- 
ing I  improvise  an  electrode,  by  taking  a  tape  needle,  pass- 
ing a  wire  through  the  eye,  wind  the  needle  with  a  piece 
of  thin  linen  cloth,  oil  well  and  pass  through  the  neck  of 
the  bladder,  then  attach  the  current  as  above.  The  cloth 
prevents  any  burning,  as  would  otherwise  with  a  bare 
electrode.  After  subduing  the  local  inflammation,  ap- 
ply one  plate  over  the  bladder  with  negative  current, 
and  the  other  over  the  region  of  the  lower  portion  of 
the  spine.  With  the  positive  current  we  change  the 
plate  to  reach  all  tender  points  in  and  about  the  groin. 
The  current  in  this  disease  must  be  light  and  even." 
retention  of  urine. 
The  above  is  caused  by  inflammation  of  the  neck  of 
the  bladder  or  prostrate  gland,  sometimes  from  the  effect 
of  gravel  or  stricture.  Tn  treating  with  electricity  the 
application  must  be  made  through  the  rectum  with  the 
positive  current,  and  with  the  negative  current  around 
the  penis  and  scrotum  if  the  patient  is  a  male;  if  a 
female  the  positive  current  in  the  vagina  and  negative 
current  over  the  bladder.  Sometimes  if  the  inflamma- 
tion is  aevere,  treat  for  immediate  relief  by  having  the 
patient  sit  in  water,  with  the  positive  current  to  the 
feet.  Tf  stricture  is  present  read  the  instructions  for 
that  disease. 

incontinence  of  urine  cured  with  electricity. 

Ed.  Med.  and  Surg.  Reporter: 

In  your  journal,  of  August  14,  1875,  I  read  an  arti- 
cle, copied  from  the  Lancet,  written  by  Dr.  F.  N.  Otis, 
upon  the  above  subject.  He  says  "sedatives  and  narcot- 
ics palliate  but  never  cure  the  disease."     He  recommends 


202  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

surgery  in  most  cases,  and  says,  **let  me  cite  a  case  or 
two"  to  prove  his  practice. 

Every  physician  has  a  right  to  his  theories,  provided 
they  can  be  brought  into  practical  use.  I  have  prac- 
tically proven  that  electricity  is  the  best  agent;  better 
than  either  the  knife  or  medicine,  for  they  have  both 
failed  me,  and  electricity  never  has.  It  is  a  fact,  known 
to  the  profession  at  large,  that  this  disease  is  stubborn, 
and  does  not  yield  to  treatment  readily. 

I  will  cite  the  first  case  of  enuresis  nocturna  that  I 
treated  successfully  with  electricity.  The  patient  a  lady, 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  unmarried;  she  had  no  control 
of  her  urine  at  night,  and  very  little  through  the  day; 
she  had  scarlet  fever  when  three  years  old,  and  since 
that  time  had  been  affected  with  this  unfortunate  disease. 
Knowing  the  benefit  gained  by  the  mechanical  action 
of  electricity,  I  determined  to  experiment  with  it  in  this 
case. 

Upon  examination,  I  found  the  meatus  urinarius  re- 
laxed, and  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  urethra  flabby. 
I  took  a  female  catheter,  attached  the  contracting  cur- 
rent to  it,  and  inserted  it  into  the  urethra,  and  then  ap- 
plied the  relaxing  current  over  the  bladder,  applying 
the  current  strong  enough  to  contract  spasmodically 
the  bladder,  the  seance  lasting  long  enough  to  produce 
slight  irritation  (about  an  hour).  This  course  of  treat- 
ment was  continued  six  successive  days,  until  I  had 
gotten  up  a  healthy  inflammatory  action ;  I  then  gave 
a  general  downward  treatment:  by  that  means  reduced 
the  inflammation. 

My  experience  in  treating  indolent  ulcers  and  other 
morbid  conditions,  was  to  use  the  remedy  that  would 
arouse  a  healthy  inflammation  the  quickest.  Electricity 
never  fails  me.  I  gain  this  reaction  by  stimulating  with 
the  tonic  current,  following  it  up  until  I  gain  the  result 


A  Treatiss  on^  Electricity.  203 

desired,  then  dame  nature,  ever  ready  to  help  herself, 
will  restore  our  patient,  as  she  did  in  this  case.  Here 
we  find  seven  treatments  of  electricity  permanently 
cured  (now  three  years  have  passed  and  the  patient  is 
well),  what  medicine  failed  to  do  in  twenty-three  years. 
I  could  cite  other  cases,  in  this  city,  where  from  four  to 
ten  treatments  have  cured  them.  If  we  find  a  stricture, 
or  contracted  condition,  we  must  use  the  relaxing  cur- 
rent to  the  part  affected,  let  it  be  the  vagina,  urethra,  or 
rectum,  but  in  those  cases  we  must  have  a  reaction. 
When  a  patient  complains  of  soreness,  I  tell  them  that 
is  just  what  I  want;  this  holds  good  only  in  chronic 
diseases.  S.  E.  Morrill,  M.  D. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

Abdominal    Diseases, 
chronic  diseases  of  the  stomach,  liver  and  bowels. 

We  quote  from  Dr.  Footers  "common  sense,"  a  short 
chapter  on  the  functions  of  the  digestive  organs  for  the 
non-professional  reader.  The  explanation  is  novel  and 
to  the  point; 

"All  of  the  organs  named  in  the  heading  of  this  chap- 
ter are  in  some  way  accessory  to  the  functions  of  diges- 
tion. Let  us  examine,  then,  the  process  which  food 
goes  through  to  nourish  and  support  animal  life.  First, 
it  is  taken  into  the  mouth,  and  is,  or  should  be,  thor- 
oughly mixed  with  saliva,  by  proper  mastication.  This 
(the  saliva)  is  electrically  a  negative  because  an  alkaline 
fluid.  Descending  the  aesophagus,  or  canal  leading  to 
the  stomach,  it  is  precipitated  into  the  gastric  juices  of 
the  stomach  which  are  electrically  a  positive,  because  an 
acid  fluid.  Here,  under  the  laws  of  electrical  attraction, 
the  gastric  or  positive  fluid  takes  hold  in  earnest  in  pen- 
etrating and  dissolving  the  particles  of  matter  already 
permeated  by  the  saliva  or  negative  fluid.  This  process 
is  further  stimulated  by  the  presence  of  nervous  or  elec- 
trical forces  sent  from  the  brain  through  the  pneumo- 
gastric  nerves,  which  keep  up  a  constant  telegraphic 
communication  between  the  brain  and  stomach. 

"By  the  time  the  digestible  portions  of  the  food  be- 
come dissolved,  and  well  saturated  with  the  gastric 
juice,  or  positive  fluid,  it  is  carried  into  the  lower  stom- 
ach, or  duodenum. .  Here  it  meets  with  two  fluids,  one, 
the  bile,  sent  by  the  liver  through  the  gall  bladder  and 
its  ducts;  and  the  other,  the  pancreatic  fluid,   furnished 

204 


I 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  205 

by  the  pancreas.  Now  the  latter,  like  saliva,  is  strongly- 
alkaline,  or  negative,  and  inasmuch  as  that  portion  of 
the  food  which  has  been  reduced  to  the  finest  pulp 
contains  the  greatest  quantity  of  gastric  positive  fluid 
the  combination  at  once  takes  place  between 
them,  the  bile  is  slightly  alkaline,  or  nega- 
tive, while  the  indigestible  portions  of  the  food 
are  only  slightly  saturated  with  the  gastric  or 
positive  fluid,  consequently  these  very  naturally  coalesce 
under  the  laws  of  chemical  or  electrical  attraction. 
Thus  we  see  how  the  nutritious  matter  is  separated 
from  the  unnutritious  or  useless.  Under  the  laws  of 
electro-chemical  attraction,  marriages  take  place  be- 
tween inanimate  bodies.  The  pancreatic  fluid  marries 
the  nutritious,  and  the  bile  marries  the  innubilious. 
The  former  combination  is  sucked  up  by  the  absorbents 
to  nourish  the  system,  while  the  latter  passes  along 
down  into  the  colon,  where  there  is  a  sort  of  rendezvous 
for  fecal  matter.  How  well  adapted  the  bile  is  to  act  as 
a  consort,  must  be  seen  when  it  is  remembered  that  it 
is  a  soapy  kind  of  fluid,  well  calculated  to  lubricate  the 
faeces  and  make  them  pass  easily  through  the  intestine. 
The  bile,  too,  gives  the  yellow  color  to  the  fecal  dis- 
charges." 

"The  correctness  of  this  hypothesis  has  been  illustrated 
by  experiments  tried  by  a  celebrated  physician  in 
England.  In  these,  a  couple  of  rabbits  were  selected, 
which  had  been  fed  with  the  same  kind  and  quality  of 
food.  On  one  of  them  he  performed  the  operation  of 
cutting  the  pneumo-gastric  nerve  leading  to  the  stom- 
ach. The  latter  being  deprived  of  the  nervous  stimulant 
the  animal  died  from  the  effect  of  an  overloaded  stom- 
ach coupled  with  suspended  digestion.  The  other 
rabbit,  which  was  not  operated  upon,  was  killed  after  an 
interval  of  almost  twenty-six  hours,  and  on  examination 
it  was  proved  that  the  food  in  his  stomach  was  entirely 


206  A  Treatise  on  Electricity; 

digested,  while  in  the  other  the  food  remained  almost  as 
crude  and  undigested  as  when  it  was  swallowed.  An- 
other experiment  was  made  upon  two  more  rabbits  in 
the  same  manner,  except  that  after  the  nerves  leading 
to  the  stomach  were  cut,  galvanism  was  applied  in  such 
a  way  as  to  send  the  current  through  the  disconnected 
nerves  to  the  seat  of  digestion.  At  the  end  of  twenty- 
four  hours  they  were  both  killed,  when  it  was  found  that 
the  food  in  the  stomach  of  the  one  whose  nerves  had 
been  severed  and  put  in  connection  with  the  galvanic 
battery,  was  nearly  as  well  digested  as  that  in  the  other, 
which  had  not  been  operated  on.  These  experiments 
show  that  the  stomach  depends  on  the  nervous  stimulou& 
whicji  it  receives  from  the  brain. 

"Similar  experiments  to  those  above  mentioned  have 
been  tried  with  reference  to  the  heart  and  other  organs, 
in  all  of  which  they  ceased  to  perform  their  functions 
when  the  nerves  were  cut,  and  commenced  again  as  soon 
as  the  galvanic  current  was  applied.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  this  essay  to  demonstrate  that  galvan- 
ism and  this  nervous  element  provided  by  the  brain  are 
identical.  It  is  evident  tl\at  they  are  not;  but  they  are 
so  closely  related,  that  one  will  take  the  place  of  the 
other,  and  this  fact  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  two 
forces  or  elements  are  similar  in  their  character,  and 
that  one  is  a  modified  form  of  the  other." 

Dr.  Foote's  wording  of  his  theory  is  new  and  original, 
but  it  is  a  practical,  common  sense  view  of  the  process 
of  digestion. 

dyspepsia. 

The  horrors  of  dyspepsia  in  its  many  forms  are  con- 
ceded to  be  indescribable.  We  meet  with  persons  daily 
who  have  tried  every  known  remedy  recommended  for 
its  cure,  but  without  receiving  any  benefit;  indeed  we 
assert  from  our  own  observation   and  experience  that 


f 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  207 

there  is  no  medicine  known  that  will  give  health  and 
comfort  to  the  confirmed  dyspeptic.  We  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  treatment  of  this  disease,  owing 
to  its  almost  universal  prevalence;  more  than  one-half 
of  all  our  patients  suffer  from  it.  Electricity  properly 
applied  in  harmony  with  the  polarity  of  the  nervous 
system,  will  cure  every  case,  no  matter  of  how  long 
standing. 

The  immediate  cause  of  dyspepsia  is  too  rapid,  immod- 
erate, or  irregular  eating,  excessive  drinking  and  the 
improper  use  of  stimulants,  such  as  mustard,  pepper  and 
hot  drinks,  often  to  such  an  extent  that  the  stomach  is 
blistered;  or  at  least  the  same  amount  applied  externally 
would  draw  a  blister.  After  the  stomach  has  been  loaded 
up  with  these  irritating  ingredients.  Some  people  think 
they  must  exercise  so  as  to  digest  what  they  have  eaten, 
while  others  go  to  sleep  after  eating  a  hearty  dinner. 
Neither  of  these  extremes  should  be  resorted  to,  but 
resting  awhile  after  eating  each  meal  greatly  assists  di- 
gestion. When  the  stomach  manufactures  impure 
blood,  it  deranges  the  nerves,  and  through  them  the  \ 
whole  system  producing  the  thousand  and  one  symp-  ( 
toms  we  hear  complained  of  every  day.  Dr.  Foote  dey 
scribes  them  thus:  ^ 

''The  spirits  are  depressed,  there  is  irritability  hypo- 
chondria, and  almost  insanity.  When  the  blood  is  at 
fault,  the  lining  of  the  stomach  is  liable  to  an  attack 
eruption,  irritation,  or  inflammation.  In  this  form 
dyspepsia  the  invalid  experiences  pain,  soreness,  gnaw- 
ing, burning  and  an  abnormal  appetite.  When  the 
dyspepsia  proceeds  from  nervous  derangement,  the 
symptoms  are  usually  palpitation  of  the  heart,  trem- 
bling at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  with  a  weak  or  "all- 
gone"  feeling  of  that  organ,  while  the  body  appears  at- 
tenuated, the  countenance  pale,  the  sleep  is  disturbed, 
and  the  mental  and  physical  energies   subdued.      In 


at 
ofj 


208  A  Treatise  oiq-  Electricity. 

either  of  the  foregoing  forms  of  dyspepsia,  the  food 
passes  through  more  of  a  rotting  than  of  a  digesting 
process  and  the  gases  emanating  from  the  decomposing 
mass,  causes  acidity  and  flatulency.  The  nutritious  sub- 
stances are  so  contaminated  by  properties  calculated  to 
irritate  or  inflame  the  blood,  that  rotten  apples  would 
answer  about  as  well  for  food  as  sound  vegetables  and 
meat;  and  they  would  impart  as  much  benefit  to  the 
system." 

Is  it  any  wonder  we  have  blood  poison  to  contend 
with,  causing  ev^ry  form  of  disease?  The  stomach  be- 
comes so  inactive  that  all  the  medicine  in  the  world 
would  not  arouse  it,  but  electricity  will,  and  it  never 
fails  if  the  treatment  is  persevered  in. 

I  have  permanently  cured  chronic  cases  of  dyspepsia 
of  from  one  to  forty  years  standing,  sometimes  where  the 
patient's  skin  looked  and  felt  like  thick  leather,  seem- 
ingly with  no  flesh,  the  muscles  adjiering  to  the  bone, 
and  the  patient  praying  for  death  every  day.  We  hope 
those  affected  with  dyspepsia  who  read  this  treatise,  will 
be  once  more  inspired  with  confidence,  and  will  stop 
taking  strong  doses  of  drugs,  and  send  to  me  for  a  bat- 
tery and  book  and  be  your  own  physicians. 

Mrs.  E.,  seventy-four  years  of  age,  commenced  taking 
treatment  with^me  for  dyspepsia  four  years  ago.  She 
did  not  expect  to  be  cured,  for  she  had  been  suffering 
with  it  for  over  forty  years.  She  came  to  see  if  she 
could  get  relief  for  sciatica,  as  I  had  cured  one  of  her 
neighbors  of  that  difiiculty.  I  diagnosed  her  case  and 
told  her  if  she  would  stay  long  enough  I  could  cure  her 
of  the  dyspepsia  also,  but  she  had  no  faith.  '*Why," 
said  she  "I  have  doctored  for  that  for  forty  years,  have 
tried  every  school  of  medicine,  allopathic,  homeopathic, 
hydropathic,  and  also  magnetism,  and  have  starved  my- 
self almost  to  death.    In  fact  I  have  scarcely  enjoyed  a 


V 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  209 

good  meal  in  the  last  forty  years,  and  you  say  you  can 
cure  me  of  sciatica  in  a  week  and  dyspepsia  in  six  weeks. 
I  shall  have  to  see  it  done  before  T  believe  it.  If  you 
can  cure  or  relieve  the  sciatica  in  the  time  you  say 
you  can  I  will  give  the  treatment  a  trial  of  six 
weeks."  I  told  her  that  her  age  would  be  the  only 
difficulty,  but  thought  without  doubt  she  could  be 
permanently  cured.  She  had  at  times,  about  once  or 
twice  a  week,  severe  pain  in  the  pit  of  the  stomach, 
followed  by  chill  then  fever,  often  vomiting  thick 
mucous  with  undigested  food.  She  only  had  one  of 
those  paroxysms  of  pain  while  taking  treatment.  In  a 
week  after  commencing  her  sciatica  was  so  much  bet- 
ter that  she  gained  confidence  and  kept  up  the  treat- 
ment for  five  weeks.  She  had  not  had  any  spasm  of 
the  stomach  since  the  first  week,  and  thought  none 
would  occur  again.  She  has  not  had  any  trouble 
since  with  her  stomach,  and  can  eat  everything 
she  wants.  The  following  two  summers  I  gave  her 
two  weeks'  treatment  for  congestion  of  the  liver.  The 
last  two  years  she  has  taken  some  medicine  for  her  liver, 
and  it  has  kept  her  well,  for  a  woman  seventy-eight 
years  old,  and  living  in  a  malarial  district.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  if  she  would  take  two  weeks'  treatment 
each  summer,  she  would  reach  the  age  of  one  hundred 
years  or  more.  Why  not?  If  I  have  kept  myself 
well  for  fifteen  years,  why  not  a  hundred?  If  it  is 
true  that  electricity  will  keep  up  the  vital  forces,  and 
through  that  keep  the  blood  pure,  where  is  the*  disease 
to  come  from  ?  Even  in  cases  of  accidents,  electricity 
will  throw  off  the  inflammation,  from  dislocations, 
broken  bones  and  injured  muscles,  and  relieve  the  pain 
immediately.  These  are  facts,  that  any  one  who 
chooses  can  prove.  I  have  cured  sprained  limbs  in 
twelve  hours,  with  two  applications  of  electricity,  that 

*14 


) 


210  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

without  it  would  not  have  been  on  their  feet  for  ten 
days  or  two  weeks. 

Now  we  ask,  What  is  the  use  of  sufferins:  with  pain, 
when  all  have  within  their  reach  a  battery  and  book  of 
instructions  for  using  the  same,  (costing  but  20  or  25 
dollars,)  that  is  as  certain  to  cure  if  properly  used  as  the 
sun  is  to  rise.  Why  wait  for  your  family  physician  to 
be  converted  to  the  truth  ?  Wake  up  to  the  fact  that 
you  can  learn  to  cure  yourself,  save  money  as  well  as 
avoid  pain  from  either  an  acute  or  chronic  disease. 
Follow  my  directions  and  prove  whether  I  am  an  ego- 
tist or  humbug.  I  do  not  ask  all  to  try  me,  but  do  the 
work  yourselves  as  I  direct  ? 

I   was    called    to  attend    a  Mrs.  W in  Wabash 

county;  and  she  had  been  in  bed  most  of  the  time  for 
four  months.  Her  physician  treating  her  for  hysteria 
and  uterine  disease,  told  her  friends  to  let  her  eat  all  she 
wanted,  to  keep  up  her  strength.  He  gave  her  tonics 
at  the  same  time,  but  no  local  treatments  for  the  uterine 
trouble.  I  gave  an  electrical  diagnosing,  found  no 
uterine  disease  except  a  flabby  condition  of  abdominal 
pelvic  muscles.  I  diagnosed  the  case  nervous  dyspep- 
sia. Her  tongue  was  broad,  thick  and  flabby.  When  a 
paroxysm  was  at  its  height  her  hands  and  feet  would  be 
cold,  sweat  stood  in  drops  all  over  her  body,  and  her 
pulse  run  up  to  one  hundred  and  thirty.  She  would 
say  she  was  dying,  a  frightened  look  would'  come  •  into 
her  face,  and  she  would  cry,  "Oh,  my  heart,  it  feels  as 
though  it  would  come  out  of  my  mouth." 

I  did  not  see  her  in  but  one  of  those  spells,  I  had  only 
given  her  one  treatment  then,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  heart  difficulty,  as  I  could  not  detect  any  or- 
ganic trouble,  was  caused  by  a  pressure  of  gas.  The 
left  side  was  all  she  complained  of,  her  left  arm  and 
shoulder  and  her  chest  in  the  region  of  the  heart.  1 
immediately  gave  a  mild  physic  to   clear  the  bowels  of 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  211 

the  fermented  poisons  they  contained  and  reduced  her 
diet  to  tenderloin,  beefsteak,  and  eggs,  nothing  else,  no 
drink  except  water.  I  would  have  nothing  that  would 
ferment.  The  steak  was  rare  and  nothing  but  salt  used 
to  season  it  with.  I  gave  carbo.  veg.  and  calcarea  carb. 
to  neutralize  the  acids,  also  gave  her  a  general  treat- 
ment each  day,  and  by  the  seventh  had  control  of  the 
disease.  I  had  strengthened  the  nerves  of  the  solar 
plexus,  the  diaphragm,  and  muscles  of  the  stomach  to 
that  degree  that  she  could  eructate  the  gas  with  ease. 
Sometiines  she  would  say,  "I  am  dying"  I  would  raise 
her  in  bed  and  strike  with  my  hand  between  the  shoul- 
ders and  so  start  the  gas  and  relieve  her  immediately. 

I  never  could  have  cured  this  case  if  I  had  not  put  her 
on  a  non-fermentary  diet.  It  was  caused  without  doubt 
by  large  doses  of  quinine  given  her  nine  years  before  for 
facial  neuralgia.  She  was  a  moderate  eater  and  careful 
of  her  health,  genprally  could  not  eat  suppers  since 
taking  the  quinia.  I  gave  her  twenty-four  treatments, 
taking  a  month's  time  to  put  her  on  her  feet,  and  she 
went  to  ride  before  I  left.  She  is  now  (eight  months 
after)  well,  and  I  am  positive  will  continue  so. 

I  claim  the  nerves  leading  to  the  stomach  were  par- 
tially paralyzed  by  the  quinia  and  could  not  perform 
their  office  until  the  electricity  toned  and  permanently 
strengthened  them.  This  case  was  different  from  the 
majority  of  chronic  dyspeptic  cases  for  the  reason  the 
nerves  would  not  bear  but  a  very  light  current.  When 
the  nerves  are  paralyzed  from  being  charged  with  effete 
matter  it  takes  heavy  electric  currents  to  absorb  the 
poisons  and  clear  the  nerve  track,  but  when  the  nerve  is 
paralyzed  or  overstrained,  let  it  be  from  fright  or  strong 
medicine,  the  patient  can  take  but  a  very  light  current. 
We  often  have  to  move  over  the  switch  to  the  weak 
side. 

In  the  above  case  I  relieved  her  very  quickly  after  put- 


212  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 


ting  the  plates  on  the  left  shoulder  blade  and  the 
negative  over  the  stomach  and  across  the  chest  in  the 
region  of  the  heart.  I  was  careful  to  let  the  plate  strike 
on  a  sore  place  under  the  left  breast,  that  reached  the 
solar  plexus  of  nerves,  also  the  positive  current  on  the 
shoulder  blade  curve  a  little  below  the  point  of  the 
scapular  reaching  the  great  splacnic  nerve.  In  this  man- 
ner I  have  treated  this  summer  an  old  case  of  chronic 
dyspepsia  of  thirty  years'  standing.  The  lady's  husband 
was  a  physician  and  she  had  tried  everything  but  derived 
no  benefit.  She  was  nothing  but  skin  and  bonnes.  1 
treated  her  three  weeks  and  sold  her  a  battery.  She  said 
when  she  went  home,  ''I  am  going  to  put  my  trust  in 
my  wooden  doctor  and  let  my  other  one  try  his  luck  on 
others."  I  might  give  hundreds  of  clinical  cases  but 
only  give  those  that  were  complicated  and  needed  differ- 
ent treatments. 

paikters'  colic. 

The  cause  of  this  disease  can  be  removed  with  elec- 
tricity by  making  the  application  in  the  same  manner 
as  directed  to  cleanse  the  system  of  mercury,  or  other 
mineral  poisons,  using  electrodes  in  the  rectum,  causing 
the  lead  to  deposit  on  the  instrument  as  in  electro- 
plating.    Give  general  treatment  also. 

BILIOUS  OR  CRAMP  COLIC. 

This  disease  is  caused  by  sluggish  liver,  and  cannot 
be  permanently  cured  until  the  liver  is  thoroughly 
aroused  by  a  course  of  electrical  treatment.  It  is  then 
a  certain  cure. 

introsusception. 

This  disease  responds  readily  to  electricity,  if  it  is 
carried  directly  to  the  difficulty.  Take  the  vagina  in- 
strument and  enter  into  the  rectum  with  the  positive 
current,  then  make  a  deep  pressure  on  the  bowels  with 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  213 

the  negative  current,  then  pull  the  plunger  until  you 
feel  the  muscles  contract,  keep  up  the  tension  until  you 
feel  the  intestine  give  away;  if  you  do  not  succeed  in 
that  way  give  a  sudden  shock  with  the  current,  using 
great  care,  and  nine  times  out  of  ten  success  will  crown 
your  efforts.  If  the  invaginated  gut  is  inflamed  that 
must  first  be  reduced  by  covering  the  bowels  with  a 
large  plate,  with  the  positive  electrode  in  the  rectum. 
It  will  take  two  treatments  probably  to  reduce  the 
inflammation;  you  can  give  them  some  hours  apart. 

electricity  the  remedy  for  cholera. 

Written  for  the  Cincinnati   Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  July,  1873,  by 
Dr.  S.  E.  Morril. 

"In  1854  Dr.  C.  Meinig  called  the  attention  of  the  medical 
world  to  the  great  value  of  the  primary  currents  of  galvan- 
ism in  the  treatment  of  choleraic  diarrhoea.  "Where  the 
symptoms  are  violent,  bowel  discharges  are  attended  with 
pains,  cramps  and  spasms,  or  movements  and  horhorygmus 
in  the  bowels,  with  washy  diarrhoea,  vomiting,  cold  sweat- 
ing, cramping  sensation  in  the  legs,  etc.  The  method  he 
prescribed  in  such  cases  is  thus  given :  The  positive  current 
of  his  portable  (and  powerful)  compound  galvanic  battery 
was  first  applied  to  the  spine,  between  the  shoulders ;  the 
negative  pole  being  placed  on  the  abdomen,  and  occasionally 
moved  higher  up  or  lower  down,  according  to  the  varying 
seat  of  the  pains  and  coldness  in  the  bowels.  The  good 
effects  of  the  current  were  uniformly  perceived  at  once,  in 
a  feeling  of  warmth  and  tone  in  the  bowels,  the  pains  grad- 
ually disappearing  in  about  half  an  hour,  both  the  diarrhoea 
and  vomiting  subsiding  in  the  course  of  from  two  to  five 
hours,  when  slight  weakness  was  left,  the  urine  reappearing 
shortly  after  the  application  of  electricity,  probably  through 
the  action  of  the  current  on  the  urinary  organs.  He  says, 
"I  have  witnessed  these  results  in  eight  cases,  one  of  them 
being  in  my  own  person ;  In  which  case,  to  attest  my  confi- 
dence, I  purposely  abstained  from  employing  any  other  rem- 
edy whatever.  In  one  or  two  cases  I  observed  the  remark- 
able  circumstances,  that    while  the  diarrhoea  lasted,  the 


214  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

pricking  sensation  of  the  negative  pole  was  almost  nil; 
whereas,  after  the  disappearance  of  the  complaint,  the  spine 
was  blistered  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  by  the  power  of 
the  current.  I  certainly  look  upon  these  observations  as  of 
sufficient  importance  at  the  present  juncture  to  induce  phy- 
sicians to  test  their  validity,  the  more  so  as  it  can  be  done 
without  great  trouble,  and  without  precluding  the  use  of 
other  remedies,  and  as  the  successful  results  here  stated  may 
very  easily  be  accounted  for.  Whatever  may  be  the  differ- 
ence of  opinions  as  to  the  cause  and  nature  of  cholera  and 
its  symptoms,  and  consequent  treatment,  two  points  will 
be  conceded  by  most  thinking  men :  first,  that  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  keep  up  the  power  of  the  central,  as 
well  as  of  the  digestive  system,  so  that,  if  diarrhoea  there 
must  be,  the  other  functions  are  disturbed  as  little  as  possible. 
Second,  that  in  this  disease,  that  remedy  is  the  most  ef- 
fective, which  is  the  most  directly  applicable,  and  the  most 
independent  of  the  disturbed  digestive  functions.  In  send- 
ing a  mild  stream  of  electricity  from  the  spine  to  the  abdo- 
men, I  vitalize,  keep  up  the  power  of  the  whole  central  and 
digestive  system,  and  by  keeping  inaction  all  functions,  I 
prevent  the  diarrhoea  from  taking  a  virulent  and  passive 
character.  And  all  the  effects  purporting  to  be  produced 
by  the  means  generally  employed,  are  thus  produced  much 
more  perfectly,  and  instantaneously  by  this  simple  applica- 
tion. However,  volumes  of  reasoning  will  never  supply  the 
'test  of  experience.  Therefore  let  electricity  be  fairly  tried, 
and  stand  on  its  own  merits.' " 

My  success  in  the  use  of  electricity  in  all  classes  of  dis- 
ease, gives  me  the  utmost  confidence  in  Dr.  Meinig's  theo- 
ries and  experience.  I  will  simply  remark  here,  had  the 
Doctor  had  the  knowledge  of  both  the  induced  and  constant 
currents,  how  much  more  value  would  he  have  placed  upon 
this  agent,  not  only  in  cholera,  but  all  classes  of  diseases. 

If  he  could  gain  such  results  as  he  claims,  by  using  the 
positive  pole  above  the  negative  and  with  the  constant  cur- 
rent, well  might  we  assert  it  an  infallible  remedy  in  this 
.terrible  disease  now  coming  among  us.    It  is  a  fact  known 
to  but  a  few  electricians,  that  by  reversing  the  currents 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  215 

from  the  common  way  of  using  them,  we  warm  the  muscu- 
lar system,  and  tone  up  the  nervous  system,  where  the  other 
only  excites  the  nerve  forces  in  the  same  proportion  as  any 
stimulants  for  the  time,  soon  followed  by  a  depression,  al- 
though it  often  benefits,  but  never  to  the  extent  it  does  by 
using  the  negative  above  the  positive.  Again,  I  think 
it  both  inconsistent  and  illogical  to  claim  that  the  constant 
current,  except  in  surgical  cases,  is  the  best  adapted  to  dis- 
ease. The  advantages  of  the  faradic  over  the  galvanic  in 
the  successful  treatment  of  disease  is  important  for  us  to 
understand.  This  current  is  the  best  appreciated  in  general 
treatment.  The  passive  exercise  and  consequent  oxydation 
and  other  changes  that  result  from  the  contraction  of  the 
hundreds  of  muscles  that  take  place  during  the  sittings,  are 
capable  of  producing  the  most  powerful  tonic  effects.  If 
the  interrupted  current  had  always  been  used  instead  of  the 
constant,  electro-therapeutics  would  have  stood  far  in  ad- 
vance of  where  they  do  to-day.  We  would  now  have  to  re- 
cord only  its  happy  results,whereas  instead  we  often  hear  re- 
ports such  as,  electricity  made  such  a  one  blind,  or  this  or 
that  one  was  paralyzed.  From  the  fact  of  its  burning  the 
skin  to  a  blister  in  Dr.  Meinig's  report,  shows  the  current 
was  too  strong,  and  I  only  wonder  he  gained  what  he  did  by 
the  imperfect  manner  of  its  application.  Any  metal  elec- 
trode should  either  be  rolled  up  in  a  wet  sponge  or  cloth, 
whenever  it  is  applied  to  the  cuticle.  Let  us  keep  in  remem- 
brance that  Franklin's  kite  strings  could  not  conduct  the 
electrical  forces  until  they  were  dampened  by  the  rain— wa- 
ter being  one  of  the  best  conductors  when  only  enough  is 
used  to  wet  the  sponge  upon  applying  it  to  the  skin.  The 
electro-thermal  baths  do  not  conduct  the  electricity  to  the 
nerve  centers  with  that  force  and  power  as  does  the  sponge 
applied  to  the  nerve  centers.  To  gain  the  best  results,  we 
must  endeavor  to  make  the  application,  so  as  to  produce  a 
direct  as  well  as  a  reflex  action  on  the  diseased  nerve  cen- 
ters. If  we  wish  to  cure  cholera  we  must  treat  the  respira- 
tory and  spinal  nerves  in  order  to  equalize  the  circulation, 
keeping  in  mind  the  one  important  nerve  center,  the  solar 
lexus,  by  a  direct  action    on  the  great  splancnic  nerve. 


216  A  Treatise  oj^  Electricity. 

To  be  successful  in  the  use  of  electricity  the  direction  of 
the  currents  should  be  understood.  The  negative  current  in- 
creases excitability;  the  positive  diminishes  it ;  for  this  rea- 
son, the  currents  should  be  reversed  in  acute  diseases.  The 
negative  current  increases  reflex  action,  while  the  positive 
diminishes  it. 

The  electrical  current  has  a  marked  chemical  effect  on  the 
blood,  and  very  decidedly  influences  the  circulation.  The 
electrical  currents  have  a  powerful  influence  over  nutri- 
tion. 

"From  the  theory  of  cholera,  as  published  by  Sir  James 
Murry,  in  the  London  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal  in  1832, 
and  since  amply  confirmed  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  it  is 
to  be  concluded  that  the  judicious  use  of  electro-magnetic 
or  galvanic  passes,  patiently  persevered  in,  through  the 
respiratory  and  spinal  nerves,  is  one  of  the  most  essential 
adjuvants  that  can  be  employed  during  collapse,  or  that 
state  of  passive  electric  obstruction,  which  ought  to  be 
treated  much  like  suspended  animation." 

An  article  by  Dr.  I.  C.  Atkinson  in  the  Lancet  of  1848  says: 

"I  am  desirous  at  the  present  moment  of  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  scientific  readers  to  a  very  interesting  phenomenon, 
more  or  less  present  in  the  collapsed  stage  of  cholera,  which 
seems  hitherto  to  have  escaped  the  observation  of  medical 
men,  viz.:  animal  electricity,  or  phosphorescence  of  the  hu- 
man body.  My  attention  was  first  attracted  to  the  subject 
during  the  former  visitation  of  that  fearful  disease  in  the 
metropolis.  It  was  indeed  singular  to  notice  the  visible 
quantity  of  electric  fluid  which  continually  discharged  it- 
self on  the  approach  of  any  conducting  body  to  the  surface 
of  the  skin  of  a  patient  laboring  under  the  collapse  stage; 
more  particularly  if  the  patient  had  been  previously  envel- 
oped in  blankets,  streams  of  electricity,  many  of  them  aver- 
aging one  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  could  readily  be  educted 
by  the  knuckles  of  the  hand,  when  directed  to  any  part  of 
the  body;  and  these  appeared,  in  color,  effect,  crackling 
noise  and  luminous  in  character,  similar  to  that  which  we 
are  all  accustomed  to  observe  when  touching  a  charged 
Leyden  jar. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  217 

"I  may  remark  the  coincidence  that,  simultaneously  with 
the  heat  of  the  body  passing  off,  the  electricity  was  evolved; 
and  I  am  therefore  led  to  ask  the  question,  are  not  heat,  elec- 
tricity and  galvanic  fluid  one  and  the  same  thing  ?  Does  not 
the  fact  of  passing  off  of  both  imponderable  substances  at 
one  and  the  same  time  strengthen  this  conclusion  ? 

"Again,  is  not  the  whole  of  what  we  call  vital  phenomena 
produced  by  certain  modifications  of  the  electro-galvanic 
magnetic  matter  and  motions  ?  And  do  we  not  find  that  these 
vital  phenomena  are  continuously  affected  by  the  relative 
state  of  the  surrounding  electric  medium  ?  To  what  can  we 
attribute  the  present  fluctuating  condition  of  the  barometer^ 
if  not  to  it  ?  Chemistry  has  failed  in  pointing  out  any  other 
so  ponderable  a  material  as  the  cause  of  epidemic  disease." 

In  the  treatment  of  cholera,  all  are  agreed  that  non-con- 
ducting substances  on  the  surface  of  the  skin  aid  essentially 
in  the  cure ;  and  it  should  be  further  understood,  during  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  atmosphere  while  the  epidemic  is 
raging,  for  the  purpose  of  restraining  the  electricity  in  the 
system  we  should  wear  woolen  under-garments,  gutta  per- 
cha  soles,  so  as  to  insulate  as  much  as  possible  the  body  to 
prevent  the  heat  and  electrical  fluid  from  passing  off. 

I  believe  with  Sir  James  Murry,  M.  D.,  that  one  of  the 
exciting  causes  of  cholera  is  the  result  of  disturbed  electrici- 
ty. I  consider  these  noxious  emanations  to  be  disturbed 
electro-galvanic  currents  and  electric  accumulations — some- 
times positive,  sometimes  negative— causing  a  want  of  elec- 
trical equilibrium  in  human  bodies. 

I  will  quote  some  of  the  daily  observations  made  by  M. 
Andraud,  in  1849,  in  Paris,  during  the  cholera  there,  which 
show  a  striking  coincidence  between  the  amount  of  atmos- 
pheric electricity  and  the  virulence  of  the  epidemic.  In  a 
letter  to  the  President  of  the  French  Academy,  dated  June 
10, 1849,  he  says :  "The  machine  I  have  used  for  daily  obser- 
vations is  rather  powerful.  In  ordinary  weather  it  gives, 
after  two  or  three  turns  of  the  wheel,  brilliant  sparks  of 
five  or  six  centimetres.  I  have  noticed  that  since  the  inva- 
sion of  the  epidemic  I  have  not  been  able  to  produce  on  any 
one  occasion  the  same  effect.    This  was  already  for  me  a 


218  A  Treatise  ok  Electricity. 

strong  presumption  that  I  was  on  the  track  of  the  important 
fact  I  was  endeavoring  to  find.  Nevertheless,  I  was  not 
convinced,  because  one  might  attribute  the  fact  to  the  moist- 
ure of  the  air,  or  to  the  irregularities  of  the  electric  ma- 
chine. Thus  I  waited  with  impatience  the  arrival  of  fine 
weather  with  heat,  to  continue  my  observations  with  more 
certainty.  At  last  fine  weather  came,  and  to  my  astonish- 
ment, the  machine,  though  often  consulted,  was  far  from 
showing,  as  it  ought,  an  augmentation  of  electricity,  but 
gave  signs  less  and  less  sensible  to  such  a  degree,  that  dur- 
ing the  days  of  the  4th,  5th  and  6th  of  June  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  anything  but  slight  crackling  without  sparks. 
On  the  7th  the  machine  remained  quite  dumb.  This  new 
decrease  of  the  electric .  fluid  has  perfectly  accorded,  as  is 
only  too  well  known,  with  the  renewed  violence  of  the 
cholera.  For  my  part,  I  was  not  more  alarmed  than  as- 
tonished; my  conviction  was  complete.  I  saw  only  the  con- 
sequence of  the  fact  already  supposed. 

"  It  may  be  imagined  with  what  anxiety,  in  these  move- 
ments of  the  crisis,  I  consulted  the  machine,  the  sad  and 
faithful  interpreter  of  a  great  calamity.  At  last,  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th,  some  feeble  sparks  reappeared,  and 
from  hour  to  hour  electric  intensity  increased.  I  felt  with 
joy  that  the  vivifying  fluid  was  returning  in  the  atmos- 
phere. Toward  evening  a  storm  announced  at  Paris  that 
the  electricity  had  re-entered  its  domain.  To  my  eyes  it 
was  the  cholera  disappearing  with  the  cause  which  produced 
it.  The  next  day  (Saturday  the  9tli)  I  continued  my  obser- 
vations. The  machine  then,  at  the  least  touch,  rendered 
with  facility  most  lively  sparks.  Now  it  is  stated  that  in 
the  six  days  following  the  8th  of  June,  the  mortality  fell 
regularly  from  667  to  355." 

I  can  and  do  confidently  say  this  disease  might  not  be  so 
fatal  as  it  has  hitherto  been  if  our  practitioners  would  study 
the  cause  of  this  disease,  then  the  effect  of  electricity  upon 
it.  I  have  never  treated  a  case  of  Asiatic  cholera,  but  will 
give  the  way  I  applied  the  electricity  in  a  very  bad  case  of 
cholera  morbus.  I  should  treat  cholera  in  precisely  the 
same  manner,  I  am  confident  with  as  good  results. 


A  Treatise  on"  Electricity.  219 

I  was  called  to  see  Mrs.  M.  at  8  o'clock  a.  m.  I 
found  her  suffering  with  severe  cramping,  purging  and 
vomiting.  I  immediately  disrobed  her,  having  her  go 
to  bed,  rolled  her  up  in  a  hot  flannel  blanket,  put  hot 
water  to  her  feet,  cold  water  on  her  head.  After  giving  her 
ipecacuanha  to  quiet  the  vomiting,  and  Kux  Vomica 
for  the  diarrhoea,  I  took  Kidder's  electro-magnetic  bat- 
tery, attached  the  rectum  electrode  to  the  positive  pole,  and 
inserted  it  into  the  rectum,  placing  the  tongue  instrument 
connecting  to  the  negative  current,  giving  a  mild  tonic  cur- 
rent to  tone  up  the  mucous  membrane.  In  about  fifteen 
minutes  I  found  the  tendency  to  vomiting  subsiding.  I 
then  connected  the  negative  current  to  a  large  thin  sheet  of 
brass  made  for  the  purpose,  large  enough  to  cover  the  whole 
abdomen,  wet  a  towel  in  warm  salt  water ,  and  wrapped  the 
brass  electrode  in  it  before  applying  it  to  the  surface;  that 
soon  warmed  up  without  burning  the  skin.  In  about  ten 
minutes  I  took  the  positive  current  from  the  rectum,  and 
connected  it  to  a  strip  of  thin  brass  electrode,  wrapped 
in  a  towel  wrung  out  of  warm  salt  water.  After  adjusting 
this  I  covered  her  up  as  closely  as  possible  in  the  flannel,  then 
put  a  current  on  as  strong  as  she  could  bear  pleasantly.  I 
had  the  bed  put  upon  glass  salt  cellars,  having  no  glass  cas- 
tors. After  about  half  an  hour  she  went  to  sleep.  I  contin- 
ued the  treatment  an  hour.  I  then  disconnected  her  from  the 
battery,  leaving  her  asleep.  She  awoke  in  a  few  minutes 
after,  seeming  well  except  weak.  I  should  with  all  confi- 
dence take  a  patient  in  a  collapsed  stage,  and  put  him  under 
the  above  treatment.  I  am  satisfied  it  would  save  in  a 
majority  of  cases  if  spinal  and  general  treatment  were  given 
as  described  in  this  work  with  the  above. 

CONSTIPATION. 

This  disease  is  one  of  the  most  common  and  troublesome 
difficulties  we  have  to  contend  with.  One  of  the  principal 
causes  is  a  sluggish  liver ;  the  supply  of  bile  is  not  sufficient 
to  soften  and  lubricate  the  faeces. 

The  pernicious  habit  of  taking  strong  cathartics  depresses 
the  nervous  energies :  first,  by  over-stimulating  of  the  in- 


220  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

testinal  canal,  followed  by  a  relaxation  of  the  muscular 
fibres  so  that  the  contractile  power  becomes  weakened.  If 
the  practice  is  continued  and  kept  up  any  length  of  time  the 
peristaltic  action  is  nearly  lost,  the  bowels  become  flabby, 
the  blood  impure  and  the  pores  of  the  skin  clogged,  all  be- 
cause the  system  is  overloaded  with  effete  matter  that 
should  have  been  discharged  through  the  bowels.  In  time 
the  whole  system  becomes  envolved  and  disease  is  inevita- 
ble. Constipation  is  often  caused  by  a  diseased  rectum, 
Buch  as  stricture,  hemorrhoids  and  paralysis  of  the  lower 
bowel. 

In  this  disease  we  give  local  treatment  with  the  vagina 
appliance.  It  gives  a  more  diffused  action,  because  it  is 
longer  and  smoother  at  the  end,  and  does  not  catch  in  the 
folds  of  the  rectum,  and  will  pass  as  far  as  the  sigmoid  flex- 
ure. If  pressure  is  made  up  towards  the  front  and  back 
toward  the  spine  and  it  will  not  pass  through,  we  are  almost 
sure  to  find  stricture  at  that  point.  Attach  the  positive 
or  A  post  to  this  instrument,  using  a  large  plate  with  nega- 
tive current  over  the  bowels,  letting  it  run  ten  minutes  every 
treatment.  After  the  bowels  are  treated  take  a  narrow 
plate  and  apply  the  same  current  to  the  spine,  leaving  the 
other  still  in  the  rectum  if  it  can  be  borne. 

This  course  never  fails  to  cure  constipation,  if  the  general 
health  is  built  up.  If  any  local  trouble  exists  it  must  be  re- 
duced according  to  directions  laid  down  in  this  work  for 
treating  that  particular  disease.  There  need  be  no  failures. 
In  all  the  years  of  my  practice  I  remember  of  but  one  failure 
t©  cure  constipation,  and  had  I  that  case  now,  or  another  as 
stubborn,  I  would  treat  for  stricture,  at  the  upper  portion  of 
the  sigmoid  flexure,  by  taking  a  male  rubber  catheter  and 
cutting  off  the  end,  tying  a  small  sponge  to  a  conducting 
wire,  and  working  through  the  flexure,  letting  the  current 
be  as  strong  as  could  be  borne,  until  a  soreness  was  gotten 
up,  and  after  that  a  few  treatments  would  absorb  the  strict- 
ure. In  one  of  my  cases  I  succeeded  in  getting  the  catheter 
to  the  part  affected,  but  the  patient  had  to  go  home  and  the 
case  went  out  of  my  hands.  I  believe  it  is  possible  to  cure 
any  case  of  this  kind,  if  both  time  and  energy  are  expended. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  221 

I  have  always  contrived  in  some  way  to  reach  locally  all 
diseased  parts,  which  must  be  done  to  make  a  perfect  cure  of 
a  great  many  complicated  cases. 

STRICTURES  OF    THE  RECTUM. 

This  disease  is  apt  to  be  found  at  or  near  the  junction  of  the 
sigmoid  flexure  with  the  colon,  and  about  two  inches  above 
the  anus.  Dr.  Hamilton,  in  his  work  on  surgery,  gives  the 
following  treatment:  "Attention  to  the  bowels,  improvement 
of  the  general  health  and  the  daily  and  careful  use  of  bou- 
gies will  in  most  cases  afford  great  relief ;  but  neither  in 
this  way  or  in  any  other  form  of  permanent  stricture  of 
the  rectum  can  the  patient  expect  a  permanent  and  radical 
cure."  We  are  obliged  to  differ  from  the  doctor,  because  our 
experience  in  treating  strictures  has  been  different  from 
his.  I  have  treated  many  cases  and  have  yet  to  make  my 
first   failure. 

Treatment:  Apply  the  negative  current  over  the  bowels; 
then  take  the  vagina  electrode,  well  oiled,  have  the  patient 
lie  on  the  side,  and  pass  into  the  rectum  until  it  comes  in 
contact  with  the  stricture,  then  turn  over  on  the  back  and 
attach  the  positive  current.  As  much  care  should  be  used 
as  in  introducing  a  bougie;  do  not  connect  the  current  un- 
til the  electrode  is  inserted.  This  will  allow  the  stricture  to 
relax,  and  in  a  short  time  the  electrode  can  be  passed  beyond 
the  stricture.  After  a  short  treatment  over  the  bowels, 
change  the  negative  current  to  the  spine.  It  the  walls  of 
the  vagina  and  rectum  are  thickened  use  an  electrode  in 
both  these  places,  and  the  thickened  tissues  will  soon  be  ab- 
sorbed. Spasmodic  strictures  yield  more  readily  than  per- 
manent ones ;  use  the  treatment  in  the  some  proportion.  I 
will  cite  a  few  cases : 

Some  years  ago  I  treated  Mrs.  M.  for  diseased  rectum.  She 
had  used  injections  for  years,  never  having  had  an  action  of 
the  bowels  without  it.  I  found  the  wall  of  the  rectum  so 
thickened  and  contracted  that  an  examination  was  impossi- 
ble. In  treating  her  I  could  at  first  introduce  only  a  fe- 
male catheter,  gradually  using  larger  electrodes  as  the  walls 
ambece    thinner.    Of  course   an  inflammatory    condition 


222  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

was  gotten  up  to  promote  absorption.  There  is  not  the 
least  danger  in  doing  this,  if  you  are  certain  you  can  con- 
tinue to  treat  the  case  every  day.  The  inflammation  aroused 
the  day  before  will  be  reduced  at  the  next  treatment,  and 
will  continue  to  alternate  in  that  way,  every  other  day,  until 
all  morbid  growths  are  absorbed.  When  there  is  no  more 
complaint  of  soreness  you  may  know  the  disease  is  eradi- 
cated and  a  few  treatments  of  the  same  kind  will  build  up 
and  heal  the  parts  without  leaving  any  cicatrix.  The  walls 
will  heal  and  be  soft  and  in  a  healthy  condition  as  they  were 
before  the  disease.  It  took  two  months  to  cure  the  above 
case.  She  is  still  living  and  healthy,  though  she  said  when 
she  commenced  treatment  she  did  not  expect  to  live  over  a 
year,  because  her  bowel  was  growing  up. 

Mrs.  C.  was  cured  of  stricture  near  the  sigmoid  flexure 
of  fifteen  years  standing,  caused  by  nitrate  of  silver  pills. 
The  deposit  of  mercury  continued  for  a  month,  but  as  soon 
as  the  rectum  was  relieved  of  it,  the  stricture  was  absorbed. 
She  had  been  treated  for  years  and  by  the  advice  of  her 
physician  had  taken  a  trip  to  Europe,  but  the  stricture  had 
never  been  discovered,  notwithstanding  the  fseces  were  al- 
ways ribbon-like,  and  flattened  on  two  sides.  I  could 
enumerate  twenty  cases  I  have  cured  with  no  other  agent 
than  electricity,  applied  as  each  case  needed.  Good  judg- 
ment must  be  used  in  treating  this  disease,  and  the  applica- 
tion must  be  correctly  made. 

WORMS. 

The  presence  of  intestinal  worms  is  usually  considered  an 
evidence  of  disease  of  the  mucous  membrane  rather  than  a 
a  distinct  disease.  When  the  membrane  becomes  de- 
ranged, these  worms  find  a  lodgment  there.  For  these  un- 
welcome but  troublesome  visitors,  if  in  the  small  intestines, 
we  give  general  treatment  alone ;  if  in  the  lower  bowel  or 
rectum,  we  give  local  treatment  in  addition  to  the  general. 
Electricity  vitalizes  the  intestinal  canal,  and  then  the  reme- 
dies necessary  will  be  assimilated,  and  destroy  the  parasites 
much  sooner  than  when  used  without  the  electricity.    We 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  223 

usually  prescribe:  Pumpkin  seeds, bruised,  one  ounce;  water, 
one  pint ;  make  a  tea  and  drink  freely,  followed  with  a  dose 
of  castor  oil. 

I  cured  a  child  who  was  having  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
nervous  fits  daily.  I  diagnosed  tape-worm,  gave  the  above 
treatment,  and  the  result  proved  my  diagnosis  to  have  been 
correct.  The  same  success  followed  my  treating  a  young 
lady  for  what  had  been  called  epileptic  fits.  I  gave  fifteen 
treatments,  followed  by  the  tea,  till  partial  emesis  was  pro- 
duced, then  administered  the  oil,  when  she  soon  passed  knots 
of  intestinal  worms,  each  containing  twenty-five  to  fifty, 
some  six  inches  in  length.  She  soon  recovered  and  has  not 
had  any  epilepsy  since. 

HEMORRHOIDS  OR  PILES. 

This  is  the  most  common  rectal  disease,  the  principal  ex- 
citing cause  being  constipation.  This  is  really  only  a  sec- 
ondary cause,  the  primary  being  a  sluggish  liver.  Though 
not  a  dangerous  disease  it  gives  a  great  deal  of  annoyance, 
is  quite  painful  and  very  difficult  to  cure  with  ordinary  re- 
medial agents. 

In  treating  hemorrhoids  with  electricity,  constitutional 
treatment  should  be  given  to  remove  the  predisposing  cause, 
and  also  local  treatment  to  the  affected  part.  For  this  local 
treatment  we  sometimes  use  the  ordinary  appliances  used 
by  electricians,  but  usually  we  insulate  a  copper  wire  with 
a  small  piece  of  sponge  attached,  passed  by  the  sphincter  ani 
into  the  lower  part  of  the  rectum  and  connected  with  the 
negative  current,  the  positive  being  over  the  sacral  plexus 
or  lower  portion  of  the  spine.  By  using  the  currents  in  this 
manner  the  negative  contracts  the  congested  blood  vessels 
and  reduces  the  inflammation.  When  general  treatment  is 
given  the  positive  is  to  be  used  internally.  We  cure  this 
disease  in  from  twelve  to  twenty  treatments,  one-half  being 
local  of  a  half-hour  each,  and  the  balance  general  and  local 
one  hour  in  length. 

Fistula  in  ano  can  be  cured  by  a  similar  course  of  treat- 
ment m  about  the  same  length  of  time. 


224  A  Teeatise  on  Electricity. 

PROLAPSUS   OF  THE  ANUS. 

Falling  of  the  bowel  or  intestine  is  one  of  the  troubles 
most  amenable  to  electrical  treatment.  It  usually  comes  on 
while  at  stool,  and  soon  becomes  very  troublesome.  Treat- 
ment: Take  an  oiled  vagina  electrode  and  introduce  it  into 
the  rectum,  attach  the  positive  current  and  apply  the  nega- 
tive over  the  bowels.  Treat  in  this  manner  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes,  then  apply  the  positive  current  over  the 
lower  portion  of  the  spine,  with  the  negative  current  in  the 
bowel.  The  change  is  easily  effected  by  changing  the  cur- 
rents at  the  machine.  If  the  bowel  has  been  affected  for  a 
considerable  length  of  time  a  very  heavy  current  can  be 
borne  by  the  patient.  As  soon  as  the  rectum  becomes  sensi- 
tive to  the  current  a  speedy  cure  will  follow.  We  have 
proven  this  in  a  great  many  cases. 

CHRONIC  DIARRHCEA.- 

Chronic  diarrhoea  is  often  very  obstinate.  The  mucous 
membrane  becomes  greatly  irritated,  and  is  often  more  or 
less  ulcerated.  All  the  digestive  organs  are  impaired,  the 
liver  is  torpid  at  times,  then  again  very  active,  and  the  bile 
which  has  been  dammed  up  passes  away  in  free  acrid  watery 
discharges,  causing  tenesmus  of  the  rectum.  In  all  cases  of 
chronic  diarrhoea  there  is  a  want  of  nervous  action.  It  is 
bad  treatment  to  suddenly  arrest  these  discharges  with  as- 
tringents, or  to  use  any  other  medicine  that  will  check 
them  too  quickly. 

I  have  been  very  successful  in  treating  it  with  electricity, 
and  have  cured  nearly  every  case,  some  of  many  years  stand- 
ing, and  with  a  good  many  complications,  such  as  ulcerations 
of  the  rectum,  often  reaching  to  the  smaller  intestines. 
One  case  where  the  whole  intestinal  canal  was  ulcerated, 
from  mouth  to  anus,  was  permanently  cured  with  electricity, 
with  the  use  of  charcoal  and  salt,  which  was  given  as  an  an- 
tidote for  mercury,  which  had  been  taken. 

While  practicing  in  Washington,  D.  C,  I  treated  a  Mr.  S., 
who  had  suffered  with  chronic  diarrhoea  for  ten  years.  He 
looked  like  a  walking  cadaver.  His  appetite  was  abnormal, 
as  the  food  of  course  was  not  assimilated,  the  bowels  were 


A  Tkeatise  01^  Electricity.  225 

ulcerated  and  the  liver  torpid;  it  could  bear  a  heavy  cur- 
rent, while  the  stomach  was  very  sensitive  to  electricity, 
showing  a  want  of  equilibrium  between  the  digestive  or- 
gans. (When  the  vital  forces  are  normal  the  same  ameunt 
can  be  borne  by  each  organ  in  the  whole  system.)  He  had 
contracted  the  disease  in  the  army,  and  had  been  subjected 
to  mercurial  treatment  which  had  caused  the  ulceration. 

First,  I  had  to  get  the  mercury  out  of  the  system.  The 
modus  operandi  was  to  use  an  electrode  in  the  rectum.  As 
metals  have  an  affinity  for  each  other,  the  deposit  of  mercury 
would  cover  the  whole  length  of  the  electrode  with  a  black 
coating,  that  would  have  to  be  scoured  off.  The  ulceration 
being  chronic  this  treatment  aroused  a  healthy  inflamma- 
tory action,  and  the  bowels  soon  healed;  the  deposit  of 
mercury  was  found  on  the  electrode  for  about  ten  treatments. 
After  this  he  began  to  build  rapidly,  and  gained  fourteen 
pounds  in  less  than  two  months.  General  treatment  was 
also  given  each  day  for  fifteen  days,  then  three  times  a 
week.  When  the  rectum  was  treated,  the  negative  current 
was  used  over  the  bowels,  with  the  large  plate.  I  gave  him 
only  twenty- four  treatments.  He  had  taken  drugs  enough 
to  fill  a  drug  store,  and  had  tried  all  schools  of  medicine, 
homeopathy,  allopathy,  eclectic,  etc.  The  more  he  ate  the 
thinner  he  became.  As  soon  as  the  cause  was  removed, 
which  was  mercury  in  the  system,  he  regained  his  health, 
and  is  now,  after  nine  years,  still  a.healthy  man. 

A  Mrs.  E.,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  was  cured  of  the  same  disease 
from  the  samecause.  She  had  many  other  complications, 
such  as  stricture  one  about  an  inch  and  a  half  above  the 
anus,  uterine  congestion,  ulceration  and  retroversion,  and  all 
the  digestive  organs  were  diseased.  She  had  great  fear  of 
electricity,  but  said  she  would  try  to  overcome  it  if  I 
thought  I  could  cure  her  so  that  she  could  have  a  child.  I 
treated  nearly  the  same  as  described  above.  Six  treatments 
absorbed  the  stricture  so  the  electrode  could  be  introduced 
without  difficulty.  She  took  treatment  every  day  for  six 
weeks  and  had  gained  in  that  time  nine  pounds.  1  left  the 
city  about  that  time,  but  received  a  letter  from  her  saying : 
"I  will  not  be  able  to  go  to  Cincinnati  to  see  you  this  fall. 

15* 


226  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

I  have  gone  to  housekeeping.  I  dare  not  use  electricity  now. 
You  can  guess  why."  She  was  delivered  of  a  weak,  sickly 
child.  Had  she  used  electricity  it  would  have  been  healthy 
and  strong,  but  she  took  the  advice  of  her  physician  and 
lost  the  child.  He  had  told  her  that  electricity  would  cause 
abortion.    It  is  not  so. 

DYSENTERY  OR  BLOODY  FLUX. 

As  this  disease  is  confined  to  the  rectum  and  other  diffi- 
culties are  sympathetic,  we  give  general  treatment  with 
local  with  electrode  in  the  rectum.  In  the  case  of  a 
child  use  a  silver  female  catheter  and  connect  with  the 
positive  cord,  using  the  negative  plate  over  the  bowels  and 
sacral  nerves.  If  the  patient  is  old  enough  treat  the  tongue. 
'If  away  from  your  instruments,  take  a  teaspoon,  wrap  a 
clean  cloth,  wet  with  salt  water,  around  it,  and  put  the  neg- 
ative wire  in  the  cloth  and  treat  the  tongue.  This  treat- 
ment will  tone  the  whole  mucous  surface  from  mouth  to 
anus.  Also  put  a  compress  of  salt  and  water  over  the 
bowels  and  use  the  indicated  remedies.  I  will  warrant  that 
every  case  can  be  cured  if  the  above  treatment  is  given. 
Injections  of  salt  and  water  are  also  beneficial.  A  non- 
professional can  give  treatment  as  directed,  and  cure  their 
children  without  the  medicine.    Try  it  and  believe. 

DROPSY. 

When  dropsy  is  found  in  the  cellular  tissues  it  is  termed 
anasarca ;  if  in  the  bowels,  it  is  called  ascites ;  if  the  chest  is 
the  seat  of  the  disease,  it  is  hydrothorax.  The  symptom  of 
anascara  is  distended,  pale  and  shining  skin.  It  is  first 
noticed  in  the  feet  and  legs ;  by  pressure  a  dent  of  a  white 
color  is  left  on  the  skin.  If  not  controlled  the  disease 
spreads  upwards  and  in  time  involves  the  whole  system. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  the  urine  is  scanty  and  is  always 
highly  colored.  In  ascites  the  distension  is  discovored  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen  and  slowly  extends  upwards, 
with  a  sense  of  weight  and  of  water  rolling  about  in  the 
body  when  moving  suddenly.  As  the  distention  increases 
the  breathing  becomes  difficult  on  the  least  bodily  exertion. 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity  227 

When  the  dropsy  is  of  the  heart  and  chest  similar  but  in- 
creased symptoms  are  present.  Upon  lying  down  a  feeling 
of  suffocation  is  felt,  and  water  can  be  distinctly  heard  if  the 
ear  is  applied  to  the  heart. 

Dropsy  is  only  an  expression  of  diseases  of  long  standing 
which  have  vitiated  the  blood,  such  as  liver  or  kidney 
troubles,  or  dyspepsia.  When  treated  with  electricity  par- 
ticular attention  should  be  paid  to  all  the  digestive  organs. 
Vapor  baths  with  electricity  in  the  bath  should  be  given 
three  times  a  week  until  the  water  is  absorbed.  Everything 
should  tend  to  invigorate  the  system  and  at  the  same  time 
get  rid  of  the  water. 

JAUNDICE  OR  ICTERUS. 

Jaundice  is  caused  by  obstructions  of  the  liver.  The  skin 
is  yellow,  fseces  white,  and  urine  of  a  high  saffron  color.  Any 
pressure  upon  the  excretory  ducts  of  the  liver  will  produce 
jaundice.  The  bile  that  should  be  appropriated  by  the  liver 
is  diffused  through  the  blood,  poisoning  the  whole  system. 
The  appetite  is  poor,  vitality  is  low,  there  is  a  heavy  feeling 
at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  and  the  liver  is  almost  invariably 
sluggish.  This  condition  springs  from  various  causes,  and 
is  oftener  met  with  in  malarial  districts  than  in  other  places. 

Jaundice  is  often  fatal  under  the  common  method  of  treat- 
ment, but  not  with  electricity.  A  few  treatments,  especially 
if  vapor  baths  can  be  used  in  connection  with  the  dry  treat- 
ment will  remove  the  obstructions.  The  general  treatment 
arouses  the  liver  and  all  the  excretory  organs,  and  the  baths 
^  clear  up  the  skin.  It  is  surprising  to  see  a  person  go  into 
an  electro-vapor  bath,  yellow,  and  come  out  white,  after 
they  had  been  given  three  arousing  treatments. 

HYPOCHONDRIA  AND  MELANCHOLY. 

These  diseases  are  more  or  less  a  derangement  of  the  gen- 
eral nervous  system  caused  by  an  inertness  of  the  digestive 
organs,  especially  of  the  liver.  Persons  of  sedentary  habits 
and  of  melancholy  temperament  are  most  liable  to  them. 
The  symptoms  accompanying  them  could  not  be  enumer- 
ated, even  in  the  case  of  a  single  hypochondriac  and  each  one 
has  some  symptoms  peculiar  to  himself. 


228  .    A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

The  prognosis  of  this  disease,  if  electrical  treatment  is 
used,  is  favorable;  the  conditions  originating  from  chronic 
difficulties  of  course  take  more  time  to  cuie,  than  diseases 
of  a  recent  date.  We  however  very  soon  see  improvement 
in  the  mental  condition  of  the  patient,  as  soon  as  the  ner- 
vous system  can  respond  to  the  vital  action  of  this  wonder- 
ful agent.  Upon  diagnosing  tor  the  cause  of  these  diseases 
(so  nearly  alike  in  their  pathological  condition)  the  liver  will 
almost  invariably  be  found  hypertrophied,  and  bowels  tense, 
and  the  peritoneum  thickened  from  a  long-continued  dimin- 
ution of  the  nervous  force  of  the  digestive  apparatus.  The 
kidneys  will  not  respond  for  a  number  of  days  to  the  treat- 
ment. Give  general  treatment  every  day.  The  liver  must 
be  reduced  to  a  normal  size  before  health  can  be  established, 
and  all  the  symptoms  will  gradually  yield  if  the  treatment 
is  persevered  in. 

OBESITY  OR  EXCESSIYE  FAT. 

This  is  cured  by  general  treatment,  which  will  change 
the  polarity  of  the  nervous  system  to  such  a  degree  that  the 
abnormal  assimilation  will  be  checked.  The  diet  must  be 
muscle-making,  without  carbonaceous  or  heating  properties. 
Obesity  from  excess  in  eating  or  drinking  can  be  reduced. 
It  is  caused  by  gas  and  effete  matters  being  retained  in  the 
system.  I  will  cite  one  case,  and  how  it  was  cured,  so  that 
it  will  be  better  understood. 

Mr.  P.,  of  Washington,  had  been  stumping  for  Hayes.  On 
his  return  (I  had  previously  cured  him  of  sciatica)  he  said 
to  me :  "Look  at  my  knee."  It  was  terribly  swollen,  his 
whole  body  was  bloated  and  his  face  was  red.  "I  must  be 
cured  in  just  one  week;  I  cannot  spend  any  more  time;  I 
have  been  through  Ohio,  living  on  the  fat  of  the  land  and 
drinking  too  much."  I  replied,  "I  will  not  try  to  cure  you 
unless  you  agree  to  stay  at  least  ten  days."  He  received  ten 
very  thorough  treatments,  and  he  took  some  cathartics  and 
vapor  baths.  When  the  ten  days  were  up  he  was  well,  the 
rheumatism  in  his  knee  was  reduced,  and  he  weighed  just 
twenty  pounds  less  than  when  he  returned.  Two  pounds  of 
effete  matter  had  been  removed  from  his  system  every  day 


f 


A  Tkeatise  oiT  Electricity.  229 

by  the  chemical  action  of  electricity.  That  was  the  motive 
power,  although  other  means  were  used  in  conjunction.  If 
that  amount  of  electricity  had  been  given  empirically,  and 
nothing  had  been  done  outside  the  electrical  treatment  to 
carry  off  the  aroused  effete  matters,  of  course  he  would 
have  had  a  fever  or  inflammatory  rheumatism.  So  we  see 
that  it  is  necessary  to  diagnose  correctly,  and  then  know 
how  to  gain  the  results  necessary  to  be  certain  of  a  cure. 
When  such  cases  come  into  my  hands  the  prognosis  of  a 
cure  is  no  guess  work,  but  certain,  if  the  case  can  be  held. 

CHRONIC  LIVER  COMPLAINTS. 

The  liver  is  the  largest  organ  in  the  human  body,  weighing 
on  an  average  four  pounds.  It  is  situated  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  abdominal  cavity,  immediately  below  the  diaphragm 
on  the  right  epigastric  region.  Its  length  is  about  ten 
inches,  and  its  width  six  inches.  The  quantity  of  bile  se 
creted  by  a  man  is  from  seventeen  to  twenty-four  ounces 
daily.  When  the  liver  is  sluggish,  and  what  are  termed 
bilious  attacks  occur,  there  is  flatulency,  pain  in  the  stom- 
ach, foul  breath,  the  tongue  is  coated,  the  skin  and  eyes  are 
yellow,  and  there  is  great  weakness.  When  the  patient  has 
a  strong  constitution  abscesses  often  form  in  the  liver,  fol- 
lowed by  hectic  flush  and  cough.  These  abscesses  often  dis- 
charge through  the  walls  of  the  diaphragm,  and  pus  will  be 
expectorated  through  the  bronchial  tubes,  and  then  this  con- 
dition may  be  mistaken  for  consumption  of  the  lungs.  When 
a  patient's  trouble  is  on  the  right  side,  it  is  more  than  prob- 
able that  the  above  is  the  cause,  but  when  on  the  left  side 
and  accompanied  with  other  symptoms,  it  is  supposed  to 
originate  in  the  lungs. 

In  this  disease  as  in  all  others  we  have  both  the  acute  and 
chronic  forms.  The  former  is  called  Hepatitis.  Its  symp- 
toms are  pain  in  the  right  side,  shoulder  and  arm,  often 
between  the  shoulder  blades,  and  back  of  the  neck  ;  sallow 
complexion,  depression  of  spirits,  failure  of  appetite,  con- 
stipation of  the  bowels,  highly  colored  urine,  with  deposits 
of  reddish  sediment,  and  more  or  less  fever.  Generally  up- 
on examination  we  find  the  liver  enlarged  or  congested ;  pains 


230  A  Treatise  ok  Electricity. 

similar  to  Dleurisy  pains  often  catch  the  patient  when  taking 
a  long  breath.  The  disease  is  also  often  accompanied  with 
a  dry  cough,  and  sometimes  with  nausea  or  vomiting. 

If  electricity  is  used,  it  must  be  in  general  treatments. 
Devote  as  much  time  as  possible  to  the  liver.  Place  the 
positive  current  at  the  spine,  in  the  rear  of  the  liver,  with 
the  negative  current  in  front  over  the  liver.  When  percuss- 
ing the  liver,  if  it  is  diseased  it  will  give  back  a  dull  sound. 
When  diagnosed  with  electricity  it  will  pull  up  or  not  re- 
spond at  all.  When  healthy  the  current  will  be  felt  through 
to  the  plate  on  the  spine,  and  not  pull  or  cause  pain. 

In  diagnosing  the  case  of  Miss  L.,  26  years  old,  with 
electricity,  I  discovered  what  seemed  to  be  a  hard  tumor, 
filling  the  right  abdominal  cavity,  and  adhering  to  the  crest 
of  the  ilium  or  hip  bone.  The  patient  could  not  stand  up 
straight,  but  leaned  to  the  right  and  forward.  She  was  very 
much  debilitated  and  emaciated.  She  was  being  treated  for 
uterine  difficulty.  Electricity  did  not  point  to  the  latter  dis- 
ease, but  the  symptoms  of  pain  oa  the  right  side  down  the 
groin  would  lead  to  that  conclusion.  Examination,  how- 
ever, discovered  nothing  of  that  character.  I  then  took  my 
plessimeter  and  percussed  the  right  side,  and  found  the 
swelling,  or  what  seemed  to  be  a  tumor,  was  the  enlarged 
and  indurated  liver,  reaching  from  the  hip  towards  the  left, 
nearly  to  the  umbilicus.  She  was  so  thin  I  could  diagnose 
to  a  certainty  a  chronic  liver  difficulty  such  as  is  very  sel- 
dom met  with.  I  concluded  I  had  some  work  before  me  to 
permanently  reduce  the  liver  and  cure  the  case  with  elec- 
tricity. After  giving  her  six  treatments,  I  aroused  the  sys- 
tem sufficiently  to  cause  her  to  have  chills  and  fever.  She  had 
been  subject  to  them  some  years  previous.  I  gave  her  each 
day  one  hour's  general  treatment,  and  treated  her  locally 
another  hour.  She  was  very  sick  at  times.  For  about  three 
weeks  her  stomach  would  congest,  and  other  symptoms  were 
present  that  would  have  discouraged  many.  But  my  motto 
is  "never  give  up,"  when  I  have  so  sure  a  remedy  as  elec- 
tricity. After  three  weeks  she  commenced  gaining  rapidly. 
Her  liver  became  very  sore,  and  she  could  not  bear  one-third 
the  usual  amount  of  electricity.    In  six  weeks  the  adhesions 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  231 

were  reduced.  One  day  when  reaching  up  she  said,  "Oh, 
something  has  broken  loose,  1  can  stand  straight  now."  After 
treating  some  time  longer,  her  liver  was  reduced  to  its  nor- 
mal size  and  she  was  a  healthy  woman. 

For  acute  liver  complaint,  and  nearly  all  acute  liver  dis- 
eases, it  only  takes  from  four  to  six  electrical  treatments  to 
control  the  disease  with  the  indicated  remedies.  **  Oh,"  said 
one  physician,  when  I  informed  him  of  this  fact,  "that 
would  ruin  our  bread  and  butter."  I  replied,  ''Charge  more 
for  your  visits."  Any  man  would  prefer  to  pay  from  three 
to  five  dollars  for  four  visits  than  one  or  two  each  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  visits.  If  a  visit  can  be  made  in  ten  or  twenty- 
minutes  for  one  dollar,  and  it  takes  an  hour  to  give  electrical 
treatment,  a  charge  of  three  dollars  would  be  no  more  than 
a  fair  price,  and  very  few  patients  would  object  if  it 
were  explained.  If  it  costs  a  man  twenty  dollars  for  medi- 
cal service  for  twenty  days,  and  he  could  gain  the  same  or 
more  benefit  in -five  days  for  the  same  amount,  would  it  not 
be  better  for  both  himself  and  the  physicion?  If  tliese 
facts  became  known  to  the  profession  they  should  talk  plain- 
ly and  give  their  patients  to  understand  the  difiiculties 
attending  this  treatment  and  the  amount  of  time  it  takes, 
then  give  them  or  their  friends  a  chance  to  do  as  they  see 
fit  about  it.  I  am  aware  that  the  quickest  and  easiest  way 
will  be  chosen  by  the  majority  of  physicians  until  the  people 
are  educated  to  the  fact  that  electricity  will  cure  disease 
in  one-fourth  the  time  that  medicine  alone  will,  and  they  in 
time  will  demand  that  doctors  to  study  and  apply  it,  charging 
according  to  the  time  spent. 

The  inconvenience  of  carrying  batteries  and  applying  them 
to  a  very  sick  patient  seems  much  greater  than  it  really  is. 
If  the  patient  is  sick  in  bed  push  the  clothes  up  and  wrap  a 
woolen  blanket  around  them.  When  the  plates  are  applied 
keep  the  blanket  between  the  plate  and  the  patient's  clothes, 
so  as  not  to  wet  them.  The  plates  can  be  applied  in  this 
manner  without  as  much  trouble  as  would  be  supposed.  I 
"was  called  to  see  a  Mrs.  H.,  who  had  been  sick  four  weeks. 
She  had  been  treated  first  for  typhoid  fever  and  then  for 
lung  trouble.    Her  physician  considered  the  case  complica- 


232  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

ted  and  had  been  assisted  by  counsel,  but  they  had  given  her 
up  to  die.  When  I  arrived  the  house  was  crowded  with 
friends  and  the  patient  was  perfectly  crazy,  requiring  two 
or  three  persons  to  keep  her  in  bed.  I  saw  she  had  hysterical 
mania,  caused  by  metritis  or  inflammation  of  the  uterus.  I 
said  I  would  take  the  case  if  they  would  discharge  the  phy- 
sician then  attending,  as  he  was  an  old-school  practitioner 
and  I  was  a  homeopath,  we  could  not  consult  together  to 
any  advantage ;  also  that  I  should  use  electricity  in  connec- 
tion with  the  homeopathic  remedies.  I  gave  some  medicine 
to  quiet  the  excitement  of  the  uterine  system.  That  night 
she  was  so  wild  that  I  could  not  treat  her.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  found  her  so  weak  that  she  could  not  be  undressed,  so 
we  pulled  up  her  night  dress  and  pushed  under  a  woolen 
blanket.  It  took  two  to  do  this,  while  I  adjusted  the  plates. 
The  spinal  treatment  seemed  to  quiet  and  strengthen  her 
right  away.  She  said  "How  good  that  feels ;  it  makes  me 
stronger."  The  pulse  was  reduced  in  fifteen  minutes  from 
120  to  about  75  beats  per  minute.  She  commenced  to  sweat 
so  that  the  prespiration  stood  on  her  hands  and  face.  We 
kept  her  warm  and  she  felt  better.  After  treating  her  an 
hour  I  left.  She  was  so  much  bf^tter  the  next  morning  that 
her  husband  went  to  his  business,  the  first  time  in  four 
weeks.  By  the  third  day  she  could  help  herself  and  I  could 
apply  the  plates  without  help.  By  the  sixth  treatment  she 
was  sitting  up.  After  the  eighth  she  was  dressed,  and  went 
to  the  table,  but  by  over-eating  she  had  a  relapse  lasting  two 
days.  She  received  only  twelve  electrical  treatments  and 
these  restored  her  to  health.  She  could  not  have  lived  ten 
days  had  it  not  have  been  for  the  vital  force  she  received 
from  it.  The  electricity  relaxed  the  overstrained  system, 
quieted  the  fever  and  strengthened  her,  all  within  one  hour, 
by  that  means  controlling  the  uterine  trouble.  I  treated 
direct  to  the  uterus  with  the  vagina  electrode.  There  was 
the  cause,  and  to  treat  for  malarial  troubles,  as  those  physi- 
cians were  doing,  showed  how  much  they  knew  about  their 
business. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear. 


DISEASE    OF    THE  CONJUNCTIVA. 

Opthalmia  embraces  all  inflammatory  lesions  of  the  eye. 
I  have  not  as  yet  made  any  special  study  of  the  application 
of  electricity  to  the  eye,  but  as  far  as  made  I  have  obtained 
most  flattering  results,  especially  in  acute  or  chronic  inflam- 
mation, granulated  lids  and  falling  of  the  upper  lid.  The 
first  named  I  have  cured  in  from  two  to  five  treatments,  but 
cases  of  long  standing  require  more.  I  have  cured  "sore 
eyes"  of  infants  of  a  week  old  by  laying  a  cloth  over  the  eye 
and  using  a  mild  current.  But  for  these  cases, 
and  for  granulated  lids  I  generally  use  an  eye-glass 
— found  in  every  electrical  case  of  appliances— with  the 
negative  current  attached,  with  the  positive  at  the  back  of 
the  neck  or  on  the  spine  between  the  shoulders.  The  glass 
contains  a  small  piece  of  sponge,  which  should  be  filled  with 
salt  water,  when  needed  for  use.  The  patient  places  the 
eye  in  the  cup,  open  if  possible,  and  the  current  is  applied  as 
strong  as  can  be  borne  with  comfort,  treating  from  twenty 
minutes  to  one-half  hour  every  day.  Falling  of  the  lid  is 
treated  by  placing  the  positive  current  the  same  as  in  the 
other  cases,  but  putting  the  negative  current  at  the'corner 
of  the  eye,*  or  below  the  ear  on  the  seventh  pair  of  nerves. 
While  watching  the  current,  you  will  see  the  lid  quiver,  that 
will  strengthen  the  lid,  and  in  a  short  time  the  trouble  will 


234  A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity. 

be  one  of  the  things  of  the  past.  Strabismus  I  have  never 
cured,  but  cases  are  on  record  claimed  to  have  been  cured. 
Placing  the  contracting  current  on  the  weak  muscle,  and 
the  relaxing  current  on  the  strong  muscle,  I  should  think 
would  do  it..  The  principle  should  hold  good  here  as  well  as 
in  any  other  portion  of  the  human  body.  Foreign  metallic 
bodies  in  the  eye  can  be  drawn  out  by  magnetic  attraction, 
with  nauch  less  danger  than  by  a  surgical  operation. 

DISEASES  OF    THE    LACHRYMAL    DUCT. 

The  above  is  found  in  both  the  acute  and  the  chronic  form. 
We  have  usually  in  recent  cases  the  symptoms  of  inflamma- 
tion, redness  and  pain.  If  of  long  standing  we  find  an  ac- 
cumulation of  serum  and  pus.  The  secretions  from  the  eye, 
or  "tears,"  do  not  pass  through  the  duct,  but  flow  over,  and 
run  down  the  cheel^. 

Treatment:  If  the  disease  is  acute  lay  a  cloth  or  sponge 
over  the  duct,  and  pass  a  current  through  the  part.  One  or 
two  treatments  will  as  a  rule  cure  it.  If  chronic,  more 
treatments  are  necessary,  and  in  addition  to  that  already  de- 
scribed, we  take  a  lachrymal  duct  electrode,  and  pass  it  into 
the  duct,  not  using  much  pressure,  as  the  adhesions  are 
tense,  and  si  false  opening  may  be  made.  As  the  adhesion  is 
absorbed,  the  electrode  will  enter  the  duct  more  easily.  We 
cannot  and  do  not  use  this  long  at  a  time,  but  treat  some  time, 
as  for  the  acute  form.  ]^o  better  absorbent  can  be  found  in 
nature  than  electricity,  when  used  with  good  judgment. 

DEAFNESS. 

I  have  treated  this  complaint  with  moderate  success. 
When  diagnosing,  if  the  ear  is  sore  to  the  current  you  can  be 
confident  of  success.  When  roaring  is  complained  of  (and 
this  is  a  condition  almost  always  found)  it  will  cease  as  soon 
as  the  soreness  is  removed.  Paralysis  of  the  auditory  nerve 
can  be  aroused  and  cured.  But  when  the  ear  drum  is  dry 
and  thickened,  if  the  person  is  old  a  cure  should  not  be  prom- 
ised because  it  will  take  a  great  many  treatments.  Some- 
times deafness  is  caused  by  hardened  wax.  When  this 
condition  is  found  by  using  an  ear  speculum  treat  in  the 
same  manner  as  for  other  ear  difficulties.     Use  an  ear  ap- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  235 

pliance  or  a  wire  wrapped  in  fine  cotton  and  dipped  in  warm 
salt  water,  with  the  negative  current  in  the  ear  and  the  pos- 
itive to  the  spine  or  back  of  the  neck.  This  will  cause  a 
cracking  sound  of  the  wax,  and  after  a  few  treatments  it 
will  be  loosened.  Soften  it  with  water  and  it  can  be  readily 
removed  by  instruments.  Bishop  Morris,  of  Ohio,  was 
cured  in  this  manner  so  that  he  could  hear  a  clock  tick  in 
another  room,  after  being  very  deaf  for  many  years.  I  have 
cured  cases  where  they  had  been  made  deaf  by  spinal  men- 
ingitis, scarlet  fever,  etc  The  negative  current  must  be 
applied  in,  and  all  around  the  ear  very  thoroughly  and  with 
long  treatments. 


CHAPTER  XXYII. 

Surgery. 

RICKETS  OR  CURVATURE  OF  THE  SPINE. 

The  above  named  disorder  has  its  location  in  the  bones 
and  is  sometimes  called  Potts'  disease  of  the  spine.  It  is 
caused  by  a  want  of  calcarea  or  lime  to  harden  the  bones. 
Children  of  a  scrofulous  diathesis  are  most  subject  to  it. 
The  muscles  weaken  and  the  spine  becomes  deformed  in 
consequence. 

I  have  been  very  successful  in  this  class  of  diseases  with 
electricity.  A  little  boy,  five  years  of  age,  living  in  Wash- 
ington, one  of  Dr  Lincoln's  patients,  was  brought  to  my 
office.  The  deformity  was  of  such  a  complicated  character 
it  did  not  seem  possible  to  cure  him.  His  abdomen  was  much 
enlarged,  his  breast  bone  projected  outwards,  the  ribs  were 
flabby  and  distended,  the  spine  had  two  curves,  all  having  a 
tendency  to  shorten  his  stature.  When  standing  on  his  feet 
he  looked  more  like  a  frog  than  a  child.  He  had  not  walked 
for  two  years,  and  had  not  been  allowed  by  his  physician  to 
sit  up  even  to  eat  his  meals.  I  commenced  giving  treatment 
so  as  to  strengthen  the  muscles.  First,  by  passing  the  posi- 
tive or  A  current  over  the  whole  length  of  the  spine,  at  the 
same  time  rubbing  and  pressing  the  sternum  and  ribs  with 
the  negative  or  B  current,  also  kneading  the  abdomen.  I 
would  keep  up  this  treatment  for  an  hour  or  more  and  then 
bandage  as  tight  as  I  thought  he  could  bear  conveniently. 
After  two  weeks  thorough  treatment  the  ribs,  breast  bone 
and  abdomen  were  wonderfully  reduced  in  size,  and  the 
little  fellow  commenced  to  look  taller  and  had  a  much 
healthier  look  in  his  face.  I  then  put  him  on  his  feet ;  he 
had  to  learn  to  walk.  When  he  had  taken  fifteen  treatments 
I  allowed  him  to  be  set  at  the  table  to  eat.  He  only  took 
twenty  treatments  in  all.      He  gained   five  pounds  in  a 


A  Teeatise  on  Electricity.  237 

month  from  the  time  he  commenced.  He  went  to  school 
after  six  weeks  and  was  a  strong,  healthy  child.  I  kept  him 
in  sight  for  over  three  years  and  he  continued  to  grow  and 
keep  well.  He  was  slightly  deformed  between  the  shoulders 
but  would  probably  outgrow  it  somewhat.  I  have  treated 
others  with  the  same  success.  The  principal  object  in  treat- 
ing this  disease  is  to  build  up  the  general  health,  strengthen 
the  muscles  and  cure  the  irritation  of  the  spine.  Electri- 
city used  with  the  salt  causes  the  system  to  deposit  its 
earthy  matter  where  it  is  needed  by  strengthening  the  ner- 
vous system.  The  muscles  and  nerves  of  scrofulous  chil- 
dren can  be  toned  up  in  the  same  manner.  It  might  be  well 
to  also  order  lime  water  or  Calcara  Carb. 

FTJRUNCTJLUS  OR    BOILS — ANTHRAX    OR  CARBUNCLES. 

A  boil  is  a  hard  tumor,  and  is  often  very  painful.  The 
inflammation  is  active  and  effects  both  the  skin  and  tissues. 
The  cause  is  disorganized  tissues.  A  carbuncle  differs  from 
it  In  this  respect,  that  it  is  a  more  chronic  form.  Its  effect  is 
both  constitutional  and  local,  and  often  endangers  the  life 
of  the  patient.  A  carbuncle  contains  a  core  with  several 
openings  for  the  exit  of  pus.  To  disperse  the  latter  with 
electricity  it  is  necessary  to  give  constitutional  treatment  to 
improve  the  digestion  and  purify  the  blood.  In  case  of  a 
boil  treat  it  locally  with  the  positive  current;  if  it  has  pro- 
gressed too  far  to  scatter,  this  current  promotes  suppuration. 
If  treated  before  fluctuation  is  perceived  it  can  be  absorbed 
into  the  system  by  general  treatment,  applying  the  negative 
current  to  the  boil  to  scatter  it,  and  the  general  treatment 
will  absorb  all  impurities  and  obviate  all  danger  arising 
from  throwing  the  effete  matters  back  into  the  system. 
A  common  boil  can  be  disorganized  readily  if  taken  in  time 
with  local  treatment  alone,  if  too  far  advanced,  use  posi- 
tive current  and  hasten  suppuration  as  for  carbuncles 
while  the  electrical  current  is  running  on  any  inflamed 
part  the  pain  is  quieted  for  the  time.  I  often  let  the  cur«- 
rent  remain  for  hours  or  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  in 
many  cases  it  will  be  ripe  or  scattered,  besides  giving  the  pa- 
tient rest. 


238  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

ULCERATION  AND  SLOUGHING. 

^'Ulceration  is  that  process  by  which  a  solution  of  conti- 
nuity is  effected  in  a  living  solid."  It  occurs  more  frequent- 
ly in  cellular  and  adipose  tissues  than  in  any  other  part  of 
the  system.  Ulceration  is  an  immediate  result  of  inflam- 
mation, for  the  reason  that  absorption  is  arrested  by  the  in- 
flammatory condition  and  advances  to  suppuration,  ulcera- 
tion progresses  and  a  sloughing  ulcer  is  the  result.  Any 
remedy  can  be  used  that  stimulates  absorption,  restores  the 
vital  powers  of  the  surrounding  tissues  and  promotes  resolu- 
tion. Healthy  nutrition  in  the  part  will  be  restored,  and  the 
normal  function  will  be  resumed.  Electro-galvanism  and 
electro-magnetism  (the  former  is  better  to  commence 
with)  are  the  best  remedies  for  stimulating  absorption  and 
their  allotropic  powers  cause  the  tissues  to  heal  by  second 
intention  in  much  less  time  than  by  any  other  known  rem- 
edy. The  line  of  demarkation  will  be  discovered  by '  the 
second  or  third  treatment  of  chronic  ulcers.  Recent  ones 
will  commence  healing  after  the  first  treatment.  For 
chronic  ulcers  produce  a  constant  or  galvanic  current  by 
connecting  two  or  three  cups  together  without  attaching 
them  to  a  battery.  Wet  a  cloth  and  cover  the  ulcer  with  it 
Apply  the  negative  current  near  or  over  the  ulcer,  then 
place  the  positive  current  on  the  spine  near  the  ulcer  and 
continue  the  seance  for  an  hour  at  a  time. 

GANGRENE  OR  MORTIFICATION. 

Mortification  includes  the  whole  process  of  dying.  Vital 
action,  pain,  heat  and  sensation  suddenly  cease.  The  surface 
frequently  is  studded  with  phlyctsena  or  elevated  spots  filled 
with  putrid  serum,  with  other  symptoms  of  gangrene. 
Sphacelus  or  completion  of  gangrene  is  indicated  when 
the  part  becomes  cold,  insensible,  and  shrunken  and 
flacid  and  the  color  dark.  When  this  condition  is  reached 
it  is  impossible  to  recover,  and  if  allowed  to  remain  in  con- 
tact with  other  living  tissues  they  absorb  the  poisonous 
fluids,  and  pyaemia  will  result.  Energetic  treatment  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  or  the  patient  will  die.  If  amputation  is 
possible,  and  the  condition  of  the  patient  favorable,  it  will 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  239 

be  the  best  mode  of  treatment.  Give  both  general  and  local 
electrization,  which  will  stimulate  absorption,  causing  an 
allotropic  change  in  the  blood,  equalizing  the  circulation  and 
toning  the  nervous  system.  It  also  arouses  the  typhoid 
symptoms  to  a  more  active  fever  and  allows  the  patient  a 
chance  for  life.  Mortification  has  been  divided  into  acute 
and  chronic.  The  former  is  humid,  inflammatory  or  trau- 
matic, the  latter  dry  or  idiopathic.  Senile  gangrene  is  a  dis- 
ease that  attacks  old  people  and  is  the  result  of  deficient  cir- 
culation. 

PRIMARY  SYPHILIS. 

Venereal  diseases  in  all  their  different  phases  are  caused  by 
a  specific  blood  poisoning  from  impure  connection.  If  neg- 
lected or  improperly  treated  in  the  primary  stages,  and  the 
poisonous  virus  allowed  to  enter  the  system,  it  becomes  a 
constitutional  disease  and  a  most  loathsome  and  filthy  one 
Chancres  may  be  divided  into  superficial,  indurated  or  Hun- 
tarian,  and  phagendic  syphilitic  ulcers.  The  superficial 
chancre  is  confined  to  the  skin,  and  the  tissues  are  but 
slightly  diseased.  It  becomes  indurated  about  the  fifth  day, 
and  is  generally  followed  by  constitutional  symptoms.  The 
effusion  of  plastic  lymph  into  the  surrounding  tissues  causes 
induration. 

If  the  case  can  be  treated  with  electricity  before  the  con- 
stitutional symptoms  appear,  the  induration  can  be  ab- 
sorbed by  local  treatment.  Its  application  should  be  made 
with  the  negative  current  directly  to  the  induration  to 
stimulate  absorption,  with  the  positive  current  on  the  spine  or 
as  near  to  the  negative  as  possible,  as  in  order  to  discuss  any 
abnormal  growth,  the  currents  should  be  in  close  proximity. 
Phagedenic  ulcers  are  usually  very  rapid  and  destructive  in 
their  progress,  increasing  in  extent,  but  not  in  depth,  and 
accompanied  with  severe  pain.  This  form  of  syphilis  needs 
thorough  general  treatment,  the  same  as  for  any  other  blood 
poison. 

FUNGUS  HCEMATODES    OR    BLEEDING  FUNGUS. 

A  true  fungus  is  a  structure  of  morbid  projection  of  dark 
blood  color,  bleeding  profusely   at   the   slightest  irritation. 


240  A  Tkeatise  on  Electricity. 

If  not  too  malignant  in  its  character,  and  the  system  is  not 
undermined,  electricity  is  the  only  remedy  that  will  both 
build  up  the  general  health  and  absorb  the  fungus  perma- 
nently. The  local  application  contracts  the  small  blood 
vessels  which  feed  the  growth,  while  general  treatment  ex- 
cites and  stimulates  venous  circulation.  In  this  way  the 
blood  is  diverted  from  the  fungus,  and  it  can  readily  be  ab- 
sorbed if  no  longer  fed. 

PIRNIO  OR  CHILBLAINS. 

Chilblains  are  secondary  effects  of  colds,  are  troublesome 
and  painful,  and  attended  with  itching,  this  can  be  relieved 
by  electrical  treatment.  Put  the  plate  with  positive  cur- 
rent under  the  foot,  rubbing  the  top  of  the  foot  with  the 
negative  current  attached  to  sponge-holder.  If  you  havn't 
this  instrument  wrap  the  current  in  a  cloth.  Sometimes 
putting  the  foot  into  hot  salt  water,  with  the  positive  cur- 
rent in  the  water  and  the  negative  under  the  knee,  and  rub- 
bing down  toward  the  foot,  will  effect  a  permanent  cure  in 
a  few  treatments.  Corns  and  affections  of  the  feet  of  all 
kinds  can  be  cured  in  this  manner.  If  the  disease  is  painful 
or  of  an  inflammatory  nature  the  benefit  is  felt  at  once.  In 
treating  over  the  foot  find  the  sore  nerves  leading  into  the 
inflamed  part. 

BURS^  OR  HOUSEMAID    KNEE. 

The  bursse  is  lined  by  a  membrane,  resembling  the  syn- 
ovial fluid  in  appearance  when  diseased.  A  chronic  bursse  is 
usually  punctured,  the  effused  fluid  pressed  out,  and  injec- 
tions of  strong  stimulants  are  made  to  arouse  healthy  ac. 
tion.  This  result  can  be  gained  by  treating  with  electricity 
and  then  the  danger  of  stiffening  the  limb  is  obviated.  Give 
a  strong  local  application  of  the  negative  current  to  the  bur- 
sse, with  the  positive  current  under  the  knee  or  with  the  pa- 
tient sitting  on  it  with  the  plate  under  the  thigh.  To  arouse 
stronger  irritation  use  the  brush.  After  three  treatments 
the  inflammation  will  begin  to  absorb  the  effusion  of  syno- 
vial fluid.  At  the  seventh  application,  put  the  positive  cur- 
rent to  the  foot,  and  rub  down  with  the  negative  to  relieve 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  241 

the  inflammation.  Give  as  many  treatments  as  are  needed 
to  effect  a  cure,  which  is  a  certainty  if  the  treatment  is  per- 
severed in. 

BUNIONS. 

Bursas  on  the  joints  are  called  bunions.  They  can  be  re- 
duced and  cured  in  nearly  the  same  manner  as  the  above.  If 
the  joint  is  already  inflamed  put  the  foot  on  the  positive 
plate,  take  the  negative  plate  in  the  hand  and  find  the  sore 
nerves  running  into  the  joint,  back  towards  the  instep.  The 
benefit  will  be  noticed  much  sooner  than  when  treated  di- 
rectly over  the  joint.  The  thickened  and  indurated  mus- 
cles over  the  inflamed  portion  have  paralyzed  the  nerves  and 
the  current  does  not  benefit  them  as  much  as  it  does  when 
treated  back  towards  the  instep.  Be  sure  that  the  painful 
nerve  is  found  which  runs  into  the  joint. 

FRACTURES  AND    DISLOCATIONS. 

After  reduction  by  mechanical  means,  these  cases  are  ma- 
terially benefited,  and  the  patient  is  hastened  in  his  restora- 
tion to  health,  by  local  applications  of  electricity.  The  in- 
flammation is  reduced  and  pain  allayed  with  three  treat- 
ments. If  there  is  inflammatory  fever  give  a  general  treat- 
ment also.  Subluxations,  sprains,  rupture  of  muscles  or  ten- 
dons can  be  materially  benefited  by  electricity.  I  have  with 
two  local  treatments  cured  sprains  that  would  have  laid  one 
up  for  weeks  without  it. 

VARICOSE  VEINS. 

In  treating  varicose  veins  the  treatment  must  be  from  be- 
low upward.  Use  the  negative  current  with  the  sponge, 
rubbing  upward,  while  the  foot  is  at  or  resting  on  the  posi- 
tive current.  The  negative  current  will  contract  and  tone 
the  blood  vessels.  Wind  or  bandage  the  leg  and  let  the  cur- 
rent run  on  the  wet  bandage  every  day,  and  the  difficulty 
will  soon  be  cured. 

BURNS  AND  SCALDS. 

The  proper  way  to  treat  a  burn  with  electricity  is  to  apply 
the  negative  current  to  the  burn  either  in  water,  or  wrapped 
in  wet  cloths,  put  the  positive  current  on  the  nerve  centers 

*16 


2i2  A  Treatise  ok  Electricity. 

as  near  the  burn  as  convenient.  If  the  arm  or  chest  has 
been  burned,  apply  between  the  shoulders.  While  the  cur- 
rent is  on,  the  pain  will  be  greatly  lessened.  This  course  of 
treatment  if  followed  up  will  prevent  suppuration,  even  if 
the  epidermis  is  destroyed.  Vital  action  is  aroused  and  the 
part  heals,  without  cicatrization. 

ABSCESS  OF  THE    ANTRUM. 

When  pain  is  felt  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth  and  indications 
point  to  the  formation  of  an  abscess,  pass  the  current 
through  from  the  inside  of  the  mouth  outward  to  the 
cheek.  If  not  absorbed  the  accumulation  of  pus  will  be 
hastened  and  the  lance  will  let  the  matter  out.  Then  a  judi- 
cious use  of  electricity  will  promote  healthy  granulation 
and  no  further  trouble  will  be  felt. 

TALIPES    EQUINUS. 

This  disease  is  known  by  the  patient  being  unable  to  touch 
the  ground  with  the  heel,  and  being  inclined  to  walk  on  the 
outside  of  the  foot.  It  seems  to  be  a  contraction  of  the  pos- 
terior muscles  of  the  leg.  It  may  be  congenital  or  caused  by 
paralysis,  or  other  diseases.  We  have  not  had  much  experi- 
ence in  this  disease,  but  will  cite  one  case.    A G , 

aged  9,  had  not  walked  for  three  years.  The  limb  was  cold, 
the  circulation  was  poor,  and  the  leg  w^s  wasted.  The 
cause  was  bladder  trouble.  His  parents  tried  many  remedies 
without  success,  and  were  going  to  have  the  tendo  Achilles 
divided  to  let  the  heel  down.  I  gave  as  strong  treatments 
as  the  boy  would  stand,  with  the  negative  current  at  the  hip 
and  the  positive  below,  and  as  the  current  relaxed  the  mus- 
cles drew  down  on  them.  After  twenty  treatments  the  cir- 
culation was  good,  the  feet  warmer,  the  heel  down  two 
inches  and  the  boy  was  going  to  school.  At  present  writing 
the  little  fellow  is  still  improving,  although  no  more  treat- 
ments have  been  given. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

HOW  DOES  ALCOHOL  INTOXICATE? 

Read  on  the  Capitol  House  steps,  in  1875,  before  the  Washington,  D.  C, 
Scientific  Club,  by  Dr.  S.  E.  Morrill. 

Experiments  have  led  scientists  to  the  conclusion  that  al- 
cohol depends  for  its  intoxicating  power  upon  the  amount 
of  oxygen  the  system  is  able  to  supply.  When  taken  in 
small  quantities  no  trace  of  it  can  be  found  in  the  excretions 
or  secretions ;  but  if  taken  in  large  quantities  it  is  found  all 
through  the  system. 

Alcohol  has  a  strong  affinity  for  oxygen.  If  it  is  thrown 
on  a  fire  it  will  burn  rapidly  as  long  as  there  is  oxygen  to 
feed  it,  but  when  no  more  oxygen  is  furnished  for  combus- 
tion the  fire  is  all  out.  The  same  process  occurs  in  the 
blood.  A  healthy  person  exhales  every  hour  a  certain 
amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  Let  him  drink  a  small  amount 
of  alcohol  and  at  first  he  will  exhale  more  carbonic  acid 
gas;  but  if  he  continues  to  take  more  alcohol  than  the  sys- 
tem can  furnish  oxygen  for,  he  will  exhale  less  and  less  of 
this  gas,  and  it  will  remain  in  the  system.  This  is  the  poi- 
son which  causes  intoxication.  It  is  not  the  presence  of 
alcohol  that  intoxicates,  but  the  absence  of  oxygen,  caused 
by  the  too  rapid  combustion. 

Starch  and  all  we  eat  undergoes  a  chemical  change,  called 
oxydation,  the  result  of  which  is  vital  force,  but  when  al- 
cohol is  drank  in  large  doses  combustion  is  the  result,  the 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  increased,  and  the  brain  and  nervous 
system  become  poisoned.  The  blood* of  a  man  who  uses 
alcohol  to  excess  is  dark  and  sluggish.  The  cells  of  the 
brain  are  the  first  part  of  the  system  to  lose  its  nourish- 
ment. 

A  drunkard  is  the  same  as  dead  until  the  effects  of  the 
alcohol  have  passed  off  and  the  newly  absorbed  oxygen  be- 
gins to  kindle  fresh  combustion,  and  afterwards  true  oxyda- 

243 


244  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

tion.  It  takes  time  for  all  the  faculties  to  return. 
The  man  Is  cold  even  in  the  hottest  weather,  thus 
showing  a  lack  of  oxygen.  His  limbs  shake,  his  mouth 
and  stomach  are  dry,  and  he  will  freeze  to  death 
where  a  sober  man  will  be  comfortable.  Alcohol  is  no  food 
for  steady  workers;  all  oxydation  is  arrested  in  the  blood  as 
soon  as  alcohol  is  taken  in  large  quantities.  The  cells  of 
the  body  are  abused  and  cannot  do  their  duty  until  stimu- 
lated again  with  alcohol  or  until  normal  oxydation  is 
resumed.  Because  alcohol  causes  rapid  combustion,  when 
normally  it  progresses  slowly,  the  drunkard  drinks  and 
drinks  again  until  all  the  cells  of  the  organism  are  weakened, 
the  stomach  becomes  inflamed,  the  intestines  thin  and  the 
muscle-cells  changed  into  tatty  cells.  The  nerves  can  re- 
sist the  longest  because  they  are  kept  stimulated.  They 
hold  on  at  the  expense  of  all  the  other  organs.  But  woe  to 
them  when  they  do  give  way  !  the  mind  wanders,  horrid 
pictures  of  crawling  snakes,  and  the  horrors  of  delirium 
haunt  the  drinker.  Such  is  the  consequence  of  constant 
alcohol  combustion. 

This  leads  us  to  ask  the  question :  Why  is  there  so  much 
alcohol  used  ?  Are  we  as  physicians  at  fault  V  Is  it  not  one 
of  the  evils  for  which  the  medical  profession  ought  to  be 
held  accountable?  I  say,  yes.  At  the  door  of  the  phy- 
sician who  prescribes  either  alcohol  or  morphine  lies 
the  responsibility  of  making  drunkards  from  the  use  of 
both  these  stimulants.  This  has  become  a  serious  evil  botli 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  so  great  as  to  call  upon  every 
well-wisher  of  humanity  to  sound  the  alarm. 

A  Mrs.  C.,  from  one  of  our  large  cities,  came  to  me  for 
treatment.  She  did  not  improve  as  rapidly  as  other  patients 
and  I  could  not  account  for  it  at  first,  but  I  soon  discovered 
she  was  taking  too  much  wine.  She  had  every  luxury,  an 
elegant  home,  a  kind  husband,  and  every  comfort  that  money 
could  buy.  I  took  dinner  with  her  one  day.  I  noticed 
she  drank  two  wine-glasses  of  wine,  and  then  I  was 
certain  her  bad  spells  were  caused  by  over-doses  of 
both  that  and  other  liquors.  Soon  after  they  sent  for 
me  in  haste.     I  found  her  wild  in  delirium,  with  two  ser- 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  245 

vants  trying  to  keep  her  in  bed.  Here  was  a  case  of  mania 
a  potu  in  a  woman,  a  terrible  thing  to  think  of.  She  was 
sick  for  some  time,  and  her  husband  now,  for  the  first  time, 
had  his  eyes  open  and  discovered  bills  at  drug  stores  for 
wine,  etc.  We  determined  to  keep  it  entirely  away  from  her 
and  try  to  have  her  reform  as  health  returned.  One  day, 
while  visiting  her  after  she  was  able  to  sit  up,  she  said  "  Doc- 
tor, 1  am  a  failure:  What  might  have  been  the  possibilities 
of  my  nature,  if  I  had  not  been  made  a  drunkai;d  by  our 
family  physician.  While  young  and  at  home  I  was  delicate 
with  low  vitality,  and  our  physician  ordered  wine.  I  took 
it,  and  the  habit  has  grown  upon  me,  and  where  am  to-day  V 
A  wreck,  and  mother  was  made  a  morphine  drunkard  by  the 
same  physician."  As  she  gained  her  health  she  tried  to 
break  off  the  habit,  and  I  hoped  she  would,  but,  alas!  I  met 
her  at  one  of  our  sea  shore  hotels  and  found  that  she  ordered 
hot  drinks  in  large  amounts  every  night.  How  sad  for  her 
husband  and  friends!  She  had  no  children  to  inherit  the  sad 
consequences  of  a  bad  system  of  medical  practice. 

From  the  fact  that  alcohol  consumes  all  oxygen,  and  is 
the  means  of  arresting  all  normal  oxydation,  it  is  madness 
to  give  it  for  any  disease.  It  appropriates  a  large  amount 
of  oxygen,  and  thus  robs  the  patient  for  the  time  being 
of  what  he  most  needs.  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  in  all 
cases  where  a  stimulant  is  needed  we  have  it  in  electricity, 
a  stimulant  which  leaves  none  of  the  terrible  results  that  are 
caused  by  alcohol  or  morphine,  and  which  will  take  the  place 
of  both.  Having  practised  in  some  of  our  largest  cities, 
many  of  my  patients  being  women,  I  have  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  some  of  the  dire  effects  of  both  these  drugs, 
cases  that  would  make  the  stoutest  heart  quail,  motliers, 
wives,  daughters,  husbands  and  sons,  made  drunkards  from 
morphine  and  liquor  by  their  family  physician.  Think  of 
it,  and  wake  up  to  the  necessity  of  investigating  a  remedy 
that  does  not  originate  with  the  evil  one,  but  is  God's  best 
and  truest  gift  to  man,— Electricity. 


246  A  Treatise  on  Electricity. 

THE  SOURCE  OF  i^"ERVE  PORCE. 

The  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute  says:  Mr.  J. 
St.  Clair  Grray  is  the  author  of  a  view  concerning  the 
origin  of  a  nerve  force,  which  he  is  very  judiciously  en- 
deavoring to  verify  by  actual  experiment.  The  author, 
starting  from  the  assumption  that  this  power  had  in  it 
an  electrical  element,  arrived  finally  at  the  conclusion 
that  its  source  is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  sulphur  and 
phosphorus  in  the  animal  system. 

It  is  well  known  that  phosphorus  exists  in  consider- 
able quantity  in  the  brain,  and  that  sulphur  is  present 
in  the  liver,  while  an  alkaline  fluid  is  in  constant  circu- 
lation between  them. 

To  determine  the  fact  as  to  whether  a  combination  of 
similar  elements  would  generate  an  electric  current,  he 
constructed  a  cell  containing  caustic  potassa,  in  which 
were  placed  sticks  of  sulphur  and  phosphorus.  Chemi- 
car  action  very  soon  set  in.  The  phosphorus  was  soon 
converted  into  an  oily  mass,  the  sulphur  gradually  wast- 
ed away  at  the  point  of  contact  with  the  former,  while 
potassa  salts  were  formed  in  the  solution.  The  opera- 
tion was  attended  with  the  evolution  of  phosphuretted 
and  sulphuretted  hydrogens. 

The  action  seems  to  be  very  gradual,  since  we  are  in- 
formed that  at  the  end  of  three  months  it  was  still 
going  on.  The  presence  of  an  electric  current  in  the 
cell  was  conclusively  established  by  the  electrometer, 
the  electrDmotive  force  being  found  to  be  superior  to 
that  of  the  Daniell  cell. 

Having  thus  established  one  fact  in  favor  of  his  hy- 
pothesis, the  author  next  proceeded  to  test  its  truth  un- 
der the  actual  conditions  of  life.  The  leg  of  a  frog  was 
prepared  as  a  galvanoscope,  according  to  Gralvani's  direc- 
tions. A  rabbit  was  then  chloroformed  and  through  an 
incision  in  the  abdomen  an  insulated  copper  wire  was 


A  Treat  USE  on  Electricity.  247 

introduced  into  the  substance  of  the  liver,  and  another 
similar  wire  passed  through  the  optic  forearm  into  the 
brain.  The  free  ends  of  the  wires  were  then  brought 
into  contact  with  the  exposed  nerve  of  the  frog's  leg, 
when  powerful  convulsions  were  produced  in  it;  a  very- 
clear  demonstration  that  an  electric  current  does  exist 
between  the  brain  and  the  liver.  From  these  the  author 
infers  that  the  source  of  the  current  is  the  action  of  the 
alkaline  fluid  on  the  sulphur  and  phosphorus  in  these 
organs;  especially  since  he  has  shown,  from  his  experi- 
ment with  the  cell  conducted  on  this  principle,  that  the 
combination  of  these  elements  is  capable  of  generating 
a  very  powerful  current. 

The  experiments  are  still  being  continued,  and  we 
shall  doubtless  soon  be  informed  either  that  subsequent 
investigation  has  disproven  this  ingenious  theory,  or 
that  the  source  of  nerve-force  is  discovered.  The  very 
obvious  objection  that  sulphur  and  phosphorus  do  not 
exist  as  such,  but  as  compounds,  in  the  liver  and  brain, 
must,  of  course,  be  considered  as  militating  against  the 
author's  views,  until  it  is  shown  to  the  contrary. 

ELECTRICITY  IK  HORTICULTURE. 

Not  long  since,  quite  an  excitement  was  created  over 
the  experiments  of  Dr.  Seimens  in  growing  plants 
with  the  illumination  of  the  electric  light.  He  pro- 
ceeded in  his  experiments  with  the  idea  that  electricity 
might  furnish  all  the  requisites  of  sunlight  in  the  de- 
velopment of  plant  growth. 

More  than  ten  years  before  this  time,  experiments 
had  been  made  with  the  electric  light  in  this  direction, 
and  it  was  found  that  this  light,  applied  to  plants  in 
badly  lighted  places,  resulted  in  a  growth  equal  to  that 
when  plants  had  the  benefit  of  sunlight. 

Dr.  Seimens  made  a  sunlight  of  his  own  by  placing 
an  electric  light  of  1,400  candle  power  in  the  midst  of 


24S  A  Treatise  on  Electticity. 

his  plants,  and  at  a  distance  ot  two  meters,  he  found  it 
equal  to  average  daylight  at  the  season  of  the  3"ear  in 
which  he  was  experimenting. 

.  He  found  the  results  the  same,  so  far  as  plant  devel- 
opments were  concerned,  as  though  the  plants  were 
under  the  direct  influence  of  daylight.  He  found,  more 
than  this,  the  growth  of  vegetation  was  greatly  accel- 
erated. The  electric  light  was  found  competent  to  pro- 
duce all  the  mechanical  effects  of  daylight,  such  as 
bringing  about  the  re-erection  of  foliage  plants  that 
"sleep"  at  night,  and  that  seedlings  of  mustard  which 
had  never  seen  daylight,  were  quite  as  green  and  vig- 
orous. 

The  London  Daily  News  says  that  Dr.  Seimens  ex- 
hibited to  an  audience  before  whom  he  lectured,  a  pot  of 
tulips  in  bud,  which  the  electric  light  brought  into  full 
bloom  in  some  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  Time  and 
further  experiments  will  demonstrate  more  fully  the 
actual  value  of  this  discovery.  Its  application  is  lim- 
itless. 

The  application  of  electricity  to  plant  growth  is  an- 
other of  these  grand  experiments  with  this  subtle  life- 
power,  as  we  may  almost  call  it,  going  on  to-day. 

From  the  Journal  of  Phcycological  Medicine,  July,  1872. 

Dr.  Wm.  A.  Hammond  quotes  Dr.  Francis  E.  Anstie, 
F.  R.  C.  P.,  London,  as  saying: 

''I  am  now  fully  able  to  speak  with  far  greater  assur- 
ance of  the  positive  value  of  Electricity  as  a  remedy  for 
neuralgic  pain.  - 1  shall  make  bold  to  say,  that  nothing 
but  the  general  ignorance  of  the  facts  can  account  for 
the  extraordinary  supineness  of  the  mass  of  English 
practitioners  with  regard  to  this  question." 

Dr.  Hammond  (referring  to  the  above)  then  says: 

''This  is  true  of  America.  Many  of  our  physicians 
know  almost  nothing  of  the  great  benefits  to  he  gained 


A  Treatise  on  Electricity.  249 

hy  this  agent^  and  have  a  groundless  scepticism   of  all 
that  is  said  in  its  favor." 

OPERATING   BY   THE   ELECTRIC   LIGHT. 
From  London  Lancet:  page  216. 

"On  the  11th  inst.,  Mr.  Berkeley  Hill  operated  on 
vesico -vaginal  fistula,  in  University  College  Hospital, 
while  the  vagina  v\^as  lighted  up  by  Mr.  Coxeter's  ap- 
plication of  the  glowing  platinum.  The  apparatus  con- 
sisted of  a  fine  platinum  wire  twisted  into  a  small  knot. 
Through  this  knot  was  sent  a  continuous  galvanic  cur- 
rent, strong  enough  to  maintain  the  wire  at  a  white 
heat.  A  strong  light  was  maintained  for  more  than  an 
hour,  close  to  the  margin  of  the  fissure,  without  imped- 
ing the  manipulations  of  the  operator.'' 

AUTOMATIC   MEDICAL   ELECTRICITY. 
From  Atlanta  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  December  1879. 

Dr.  Francis  Imlach,  in  the  Practitioner^  describes 
some  very  ingenuous  and  useful  devices  for  the  applica- 
tion of  electricity  to  paralytics:  ''Take  a  hemiplegic  pa- 
tient, and,  by  automatic  electric  arrangement,  make 
him  raise  the  dragging  limb  as  he  walks,  and  stand  as 
firmly  upon  it  as  upon  the  other."  Dr.  Imlach  has  a 
number  of  other  arrangements,  acting  on  the  same  auto- 
matic principle,  by  which  various  other  forms  of  paraly- 
sis can  be  treated.  His  idea  is  evidently  a  good  one, 
and  will  probably  meet  with  much  favor. 


INDEX. 


Anus,  Prolapsus 224 

Aphthae  or  Thursh 110 

Atrophy  of  Infants 114 

Abcess  in  Antrum 242 

Abcess  of  the  Libia 121 

Asphyxia 157 

Arsenic,  etc 159 

Asthma 194 

Abdominal  Diseases 204 

Anthrax  or  Carbuncle 287 

Alcohol  and  its  effects 248 

Batteries —  74 

Blood  Circulation 102 

Bronchitis 112 

Bubo 147 

Blood  Poisons 148 

Baths 164 

Bronchocele  or  Goitre 168 

Bursas 240 

Bunions 241 

Burns 241 

Boils 237 

Cause  of  Poor  Health  of  Girls 116 

Children's  Diseases 106 

Constipation  (children) 110 

•     (Adults) 219 

Cholera  Infantum 110 

Cholera 213 

Congestion  of  the  Lungs 111 

Croup 112 

Cough,  Whooping 113 

Cutanious  Diseases  of  the  Genitals 186 

Cancer 160 

Cervix,  Amputation 141 

Cantharidies 169 

Convalecence 166 

Congestive  Headache 169 

Chorea,  St.  Vitus  Dance 182 

Consumption 192 

Cystitis 200 

Conjunctiva 283 

Chilblains 240 


Colic,  Bilious 212 

Colic,  Painters' 212 

Curvature  of  the  Spine 286 

Catarrh 167 

Do  Medicine  and  Electricity  Harmonize 42 

Diagnosing,  Physical 61 

Diagnosing,  Electrical 55 

Diseases  of  Women 119 

Dysentery 110 

Dysentery,  Bloody  Flux 226 

Diarrhoea 111 

Diarrhoea,   Chronic 224 

Diphtheria 113 

Dentation 114 

Dysmenorrhoea 126 

Dyspepsia 206 

Dropsy 226 

Deafness 234 

Electro  Therapeutics 19 

Electricity  and  Magnetism 33 

Electric  Pills 99 

Extraction  of  Foreign  Bodies 163 

Erysipelas 152 

Fractures  and  Dislocations 241 

Fungus  Growths 135 

Fevers 187 

Fistula 124 

General  Treatment 64 

General  Instructions 69 

Gonorrhoea 146 

Gleet : 146 

Gangrene 238 

Hydatids  and  Moles 136 

Hernia ^ 146 

Hereditary  Diseases 148 

Hydrophobia 153 

Heart  Disease 190 

Hemorrhoids  or  Piles 223 

Hypochondria 227 

Hysteria 184 

Is  Electricity  Life 89 

Indigestion 1 111 

Impotency 143 

Improvised  In struments 166 

Insanity 181 

Insomnia  or  Sleeplessness 183 

Inflamation 186 

Introsusception 212 

Jaundice 227 

Kidneys 197 

Kidneys,  Bright's  Disease 199 

Liver 229 

Lachrymal  Duct— 284 

Leucorrhoea  or  Whites 124 


liumbago 174 

Lock  Jaw  or  Tetanus 180 

Menorrhagia  or  Hemorrhage 126 

Melancholy 227 

Mortification _ 238 

Mercury 159 

Nymphomania 120 

Neuralgia 171 

Opium  Poison 159 

Obesity,  Excessive  fat 228 

Pleurisy 195 

Pneumonia 195 

Purpura  Hemorrhagica 188 

Paralysis 176 

Phymosis 146 

Prostate  Gland 145 

Polypus , 140 

Pyemia 161 

Q,uinsy 168 

Questions  and  Answers. 13 

Rheumatism 178 

Syphilis 239 

Sloughing 238 

Strictures  of  the  Rectum 221 

Stammering 182 

Sciatica 175 

Skin  Diseases 160 

Salt  Rheum 159 

Salt  or  Clrodium  of  Sodium 46 

Spider  or  Snake  Bite 168 

Scrofula 156 

Small  Pox 155 

Satyrrasis : 144 

Spermatarrhoea 142 

Tumors,  Fibrous 137 

Tumors,  Ovarian 139 

Tic  Douloureux 173 

Toothache 169 

Tobacco  Poison 158 

Talipes  Equinus 242 

Treating  Chair 99 

Uterus 127 

Uterus,  Inflammation 131 

Uterus,  Displacement 127 

Uterus,  Procidentia 133 

Uterus,  Ulceration 1 134 

Uterus,  Dropsy 140 

Urin,  Retention 201 

Ulceration 238 

Vagina,  Prolapsus 121 

Vagina,  Induration 122 

Vagina,  Adhesions _ 123 

Vericrose  Veins 241 

Worms 222 


□r,    JEROME    KIEEER'S 

ELECTRO-IEDICAL  APPARATUS, 

For  which  he  has  re- 
ceived Letters  Patent 
for  marlied  and  de- 
cided improvements 
which  render  them  su- 
perior to  all  and  any 
other  apparatus,  and 
also  Highest  Premium 
Awarded  by  American 
Institute,  for  the  years 
1872  to  1882  inclusive, 
and  whenever  and 
wherever  exhibited  in 
competition.  The 
award  of  1875  was  the 
Gold  Medal  to  distin- 
guish his  apparatus  as 
"  of  the  first  order  of  im- 
portance.^^ Awarded, 
also  the  Highest  Prem- 
ium at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  1876)  and 
2  Silver  Medals  at.Cin- 
c  i  n  n  a  1 1  Industrial 
E:!  position  in  the  fall 
of  1881  and  1882,  also  Sil- 
ver Medal  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  Exposition 
fall  of  18fe2.  Highest 
Awards  given  for  Elec- 
tric Machines.  4®="Please  note  the  following  names  of  the  apparatus 
for  which  the  Gold  Medal  was  awarded  to  Dr.  Kidder  in  1875,  to 
distinguish  them  as  of  the  first  order  of  importance. 

DR.  KIDDER'S  IMPROVED  No.  1, 

Physician's  Office  Electro- Medical  Apparatus. 

DR.  KIDDER'S  IMPROVED  No.  2, 

Physician's  Visiting  Machine,  with  turn  down  Helix. 

DR.  KIDDER'S  IMPROVED  No.  3, 

Physician's  Visiting  Machine,  another  lorm. 

DR.  KIDDER'S  IMPROVED  No.  4, 

Office  and  Family  Machine. 

DR.  KIDDER'S  IMPROVED  No.  5, 

Tip  Battery,  Ten  Current  Machine.    (See  Cut.) 

The  latter  discontinuing  the  action  by  tipping  the  jar,  the  solution 
falling  away  from  the  elements.  This  is  the  Ne  plus  ultra  and  the 
most  perfect  and  convenient  Electro-Medical  Apparatus  ever  made, 
and  is  the  invention  of  Dr.  Jerome  Kidder. 

Also  Galvante  Batteries  from  12  to  36  cells,  various  prices.  Gal- 
vano  Caustic  Batteries,  and  an  Improved  Pocket  Induction  Appar- 
atus. 

All  other  parties  claiming  highest  premium  for  above  mentioned 
are  Fraudulent,  being  made  to  deceive  the  public. 

To  distinguish  the  genuine  send  for  Illustrated  Catalogue. 
A  el fl ■ppoG 

JEROME  KIDDER  MANUFACTURING  CO., 

820  Broadway,  New  York. 
Instructions  for  use  and  other  display  on  page  80. 


McINTOSH 

COMBINED 

(Jalvanic  and  Faradic  Batterie?. 


OFFICE    BATTERIES, 

ELECTRIC    BATH   APPARATUS,    ELECTRODES, 

SOLAR  MICROSCOPE,  STEREOPTICON, 

AND  SUPPORTERS, 


MANUFACTURED    BY 


Mcintosh  Galvanic  and  Faradic  Battery  Co., 

192  AND  194  JACKSON  STREET, 

CHICAE-D,   ILL. 


Instructions  for  running  these  Batteries  and  Prices  and  Display  of 
Instruments  will  be  found  on  j)age  91. 


MANUFACTURERS  OK  THE  STANDARD 

ELECTRICAL 

INSTRUMENTS, 

FOR  MEDICAL  USE. 

335   FOURTH   AVE., 

Nbw  York. 


ELECTRODES. 


SEND  FOR  CATALOGUE. 


GALVANIC   BATTERIES. 

ELECTRO  MAGNETIC  MACHINES.  The  Price,  and  Instructions  foF  keep- 

GALVANic  CAUSTIC  APPARATUS.  l^g  thcsc  Batteries  in  running  order 

CABINET  GALVANIC  BATTERIES.  Will  be  lound  On  page  96. 


Electric  Uterine  Supporter, 

An  Improvement  on  Dr.  Mcintosh's  Uterine  Supporter  by 

DR.  S.  E.  MORRILL. 


(PATENT  APPLIED  FOR.) 


We  attach  a  battery  or  voltaic  pile  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  run  the  positive  current  from  the  nerve  centers  of  the 
spine  leading  to  the  uterus,  through  a  rubber  tube  to  the  cup 
which  also  has  a  pile.  The  skin  being  acid,  the  vagina 
alkali,  we  will  get  a  continous  galvanic  current  to  the  uterus 
that  will  cure  ulcerations,  indurations  and  displacements  in 
less  time  than  the  supporter  would  without  it,  and  only  in- 
creasing the  price  $2.00,  making  it  $12.00;  to  physicians 
$8.00. 

The  Supporter  can  be  bought  of  us  with  or  without  the 
improvement. 

Address, 

DR.  S.  £.  MORRILL, 

533  John  Street, 

KALAMAZOO,  MICH. 


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